The comet… The brightness of comets are notoriously hard to predict; Universe Today says Comet Swan could reach fourth magnitude in the morning night sky on May 17, 2020… Discovered a few days ago, comet Swan (C/2020 F8) is bright, green, easy object for sky-watchers. (Supplied: NASA)Once it has swung around the Sun on May 27, people in the northern hemisphere will get their best view. Comet SWAN peaked around magnitude 5 in early May after a ~1.5 magnitude outburst. Comet may go underway an outburst, releasing massive hydrogen rich material. It remains unclear whether it will survive the close encounter, but if it does, it will become even more visible in the northern hemisphere, but this time in … C/2020 F8 (SWAN), or Comet SWAN, is an Oort cloud comet that was discovered in images taken by the Solar Wind Anisotropies (SWAN) camera on March 25, 2020, aboard the Solar Heliospheric Observer (SOHO) spacecraft. May 27, 2020: C/2020 F8 (SWAN), or Comet SWAN, is an Oort cloud comet that was discovered in images taken by the Solar Wind Anisotropies (SWAN) camera on March 25, 2020, aboard the Solar Heliospheric Observer (SOHO) spacecraft. The comet … Closest approach of Comet SWAN (C/2020 F8) to Earth. Thank you Joann for guiding us with your experience & love. Astronomers expect comet SWAN continues to become brighter as it moves towards the Sun (perihelion – on May 27, 2020 at 0.43 Astronomical Units); and more visible as it approaches closest to Earth on May 13, 2020 at 0.57 Astronomical Units, or 85,065,197 km. Officially designated C/2020 F8 (SWAN), this outgassing interplanetary iceberg will pass its closest to the Earth on May 13, and closest to the Sun on May 27. Comet SWAN has come in from the very margins of our solar system. Comet SWAN makes its closest approach to Earth on May 13, 2020, at a distance of 85 million km (53 million miles); its closest approach to the Sun, called perihelion, will happen on May 27, 2020. A new comet is heading for the Sun. According to the calculation of the comet's orbit, C/2020 F8 (SWAN) will make the closest approach to our planet at a distance of 52 million miles (84 million km) on May 12, 2020.

The comet reportedly visits the inner solar system once every 11,597 years, and will reach its closest point to the sun, the so-called ‘danger zone,’ on May 27. In the glare of twilight, Comet SWAN is difficult to find with 50mm binoculars even though it is still near the theoretical range of naked eye visibility. Best time to see Comet Swan.