Comet LINEAR produced a major outburst in October and suddenly brightened by over 100 times to magnitude +8.5 and hence within binocular and small telescope range. Since then the comet has been stable, no more major outbursts and only marginally changing in brightness. With the comet heading towards a February 2014 perihelion date, it remains on course to reach naked eye visibility early next year.

Location, magnitude and star chart

LINEAR moved into the northern constellation of Boötes in early November and remains there until December 6th. During this time the comet moves slowly in a southeasterly direction against the fixed background stars. It then passes into Serpens Caput (the northern part of split constellation of Serpens) before entering Hercules on December 26th.

During November, LINEAR was visible with large binoculars (e.g. 20x80s) and small telescopes, appearing diffuse, but not too difficult to see. Now into December, LINEAR is expected to brighten gradually and should be visible with common 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars by the end of the year.

From northern temperate latitudes, LINEAR is well placed for observation towards the east before sunrise. It's also visible from the tropics, although much closer to the horizon. Unfortunately, from the Southern Hemisphere, LINEAR is not observable until February 2014.

The finder chart below shows the positions of comet LINEAR from November 16 to December 28, 2013.

Comet LINEAR (C/2012 X1) Finder Chart from November 16 to December 28, 2013 - pdf format

C/2012 X1 (LINEAR) Data (at epoch March 11, 2013)

Comet LINEAR (C/2012 X1) Data Table

See also

Comet LINEAR (C/2012 X1) bursts into view