46P/Wirtanen 2018-Oct-12 Charles Bell

46P/Wirtanen
2018-Oct-12 07:12:57 UTC
Exposure 169 secs
Low sky altitude +28 deg
Sky Motion 0.67"/min P.A. 177.7 deg
Magnitude 14.9 R aperture radius 10.4 arcsec UCAC4
Afrho R = 12.9 cm rho = 2980 km
Coma 55" X 43" extended PA 330 deg
The coma has grown in width and length and shows an extension that appears affected by comet's motion since it is rotated slightly toward the -v direction. The geometry vectors r and -v are approximately at right angles. As the tail grows over the next month, a more noticeable curve toward -v should develop, curving toward the west.
Tail 2.6 arc min PA 325 deg
Charles Bell H47 Vicksburg
0.3-m Schmidt-Cassegrain + CCD + R filter
Astrometrica view cropped
Astrometry submitted to the Minor Planet Center see MPEC 2018-U70


Ephemeris data:
t - T = -61.63902 days
True Anomaly = 298.6933 or -61.3067 deg
Delta = 0.395 AU
r = 1.330 AU
El