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Comet Jacques is now past its best but remains well placed for observation high in the sky during the second half of September. In July when at its brightest, Jacques reached the cusp of naked eye visibility; just too faint to be seen without optical aid but nevertheless a superb sight in binoculars, telescopes and a wonderful object for astro imagers.

Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) and the Heart & Soul Nebulae (Michael Jaeger)

Location and star chart

The comet is currently traveling in a south-westerly direction. It started September by moving into Cygnus from Cepheus where it remains until the middle of the month. During this period it traveled almost parallel to the body of the "Swan" and on September 14th passes a degree east of beautiful double star Albireo (β Cyg - mag. +3.0). Later on the same day Jacques moves into Vulpecula and on September 21st passes just west of the large open cluster Collinder 399; more commonly know as the "Coathanger". This loose star grouping is easily visible in binoculars and does look remarkably like a Coathanger! Jacques then crosses into Sagitta and onto Aquila (Sep 24th), where it stays for the remainder of the month.

The comet is expected to dim from magnitude +7.6 to +9.9 as the month progresses. During the second part of the month, it's visible relatively high in the sky after sunset from most locations as soon as it's dark enough. It should be visible with small telescopes during this time, although it will start to become more and more difficult to spot with binoculars as it dims. It may also be difficult to see against the rich Milky Way background that fills this part of the sky.

The finder chart below shows the positions of Jacques from September 10th to September 23rd, 2014.

Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) Finder Chart from Sep 10th to Sep 23rd, 2014

Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) Finder Chart from Sep 10th to Sep 23rd, 2014 - pdf format

C/2014 E2 (Jacques) Data (at epoch May 23, 2014)

NameC/2014 E2 (Jacques)
TypeComet
DiscovererCristovao Jacques, Eduardo Pimentel and Joao Ribeiro de Barros
Discovery dateMarch 13, 2014
Aphelion (AU)1445.3
Perihelion (AU)0.66384
Semi-major axis722.98
Eccentricity0.9991
Orbital period (years)19440
Inclination (degrees) 156.39
Longitude of ascending node (degrees)56.389
Perihelion July 2, 2014
Notes Magnitude +14.7 at discovery

Comet (C/2014 E2) Jacques Data Table

DateRight AscensionDeclinationMag.Distance from Earth (AU)Constellation
01 Sep 201421h 25m 29s56d 31m 32s7.60.576Cepheus
02 Sep 201421h 08m 38s54d 12m 34s7.70.584Cygnus
03 Sep 201420h 54m 06s51d 49m 28s7.70.594Cygnus
04 Sep 201420h 41m 32s49d 25m 01s7.80.606Cygnus
05 Sep 201420h 30m 40s47d 01m 25s7.80.619Cygnus
06 Sep 201420h 21m 14s44d 40m 22s7.90.634Cygnus
07 Sep 201420h 13m 00s42d 23m 07s7.90.651Cygnus
08 Sep 201420h 05m 48s40d 10m 34s8.00.669Cygnus
09 Sep 201419h 59m 28s38d 03m 18s8.00.688Cygnus
10 Sep 201419h 53m 53s36d 01m 39s8.10.709Cygnus
11 Sep 201419h 48m 56s34d 05m 49s8.10.731Cygnus
12 Sep 201419h 44m 33s32d 15m 47s8.20.754Cygnus
13 Sep 201419h 40m 38s30d 31m 30s8.20.777Cygnus
14 Sep 201419h 37m 08s28d 52m 48s8.30.802Cygnus
15 Sep 201419h 33m 60s27d 19m 30s8.30.827Vulpecula
16 Sep 201419h 31m 11s25d 51m 19s8.40.853Vulpecula
17 Sep 201419h 28m 39s24d 28m 03s8.40.880Vulpecula
18 Sep 201419h 26m 23s23d 09m 24s8.50.907Vulpecula
19 Sep 201419h 24m 20s21d 55m 06s8.60.935Vulpecula
20 Sep 201419h 22m 30s20d 44m 54s8.70.963Vulpecula
21 Sep 201419h 20m 50s19d 38m 33s8.80.992Vulpecula
22 Sep 201419h 19m 20s18d 35m 49s8.91.021Sagitta
23 Sep 201419h 17m 60s17d 36m 27s9.01.051Sagitta
24 Sep 201419h 16m 47s16d 40m 14s9.11.081Sagitta
25 Sep 201419h 15m 42s15d 46m 58s9.21.111Aquila
26 Sep 201419h 14m 43s14d 56m 29s9.31.141Aquila
27 Sep 201419h 13m 51s14d 08m 34s9.41.172Aquila
28 Sep 201419h 13m 05s13d 23m 04s9.51.203Aquila
29 Sep 201419h 12m 23s12d 39m 51s9.71.234Aquila
30 Sep 201419h 11m 47s11d 58m 45s9.91.266Aquila

See also

Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) now within small telescope range
Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) visible with binoculars and small scopes
Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) moves north, remains visible with binoculars
Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) passes north of the "W" of Cassiopeia
Comet Jacques (C/2014 E2) remains within binocular range