Comet 10P/Tempel2 Grows Brighter: View from California

Comet 10P/Tempel2 Grows Brighter: View from California

Astrophotographer Dan Bartlett: "Comet 10P/Tempel2 has a spaghettified dust tail, and it's brightening. Twisting brownish-yellow dust trail appears as a 'jet' streaming out of the central condesation (over exposed). The dust tail still envelopes the post orbital dust trail but has brightened and broadened from the previous night. Orbital dust trail still obvious, as well as the dust tail jet, on individual 4 minute subs . . ."

Comet 10P/Tempel, also known as Tempel 2, is a large Jupiter-family comet roughly 10 km in diameter with a 5.36 year orbit around the Sun. Jupiter-family comets (JFCs) are short-period comets with orbital periods under 20 years, whose orbits are strongly influenced by planet Jupiter’s immense gravity. 10P/Tempel was discovered on July 4, 1873 by Wilhelm Tempel. At perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) passage on August 2, 2026, the solar elongation will be 164 degrees at a magnitude of approximately 8–10 with a declination of –24. The closest approach to Earth will be the next day on August 3, 2026, at a distance of 0.414 AU (61.9 million km). The comet should then be visible with binoculars.

California is a state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California to the south. 

Image Credit: Dan Bartlett 
Location: June Lake, California, United States

Dan's website: https://app.astrobin.com/i/tjxe54?r=0
Date: July 23, 2026

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