# Comet Erasmus, discovered in September **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 3, 2020, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comet-erasmus-discovered-in-september/927053 "2020-12-03T00:22:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comet-erasmus-discovered-in-september/927053/1 "2020-12-03T00:22:55Z")
There’s some chatter that it may be bright enough to be visible in the daytime. Since we’re still waiting for Betelgeuse to go supernova, and be able to see it, this will have to do for now. > **[Bright Comet Erasmus](https://spaceweatherarchive.com/2020/11/22/bright-comet-erasmus/)** > > Nov. 21, 2020: Every 2000 years, Comet Erasmus (C/2020 S3) visits the inner Solar System. News Flash: It’s back. Discovered on Sept. 17, 2020, by South African astronomer Nicolas Erasmus, the… ---
**Author:** ![Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiendish_astronaut/32/3295_2.png) [@Fiendish\_Astronaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiendish_Astronaut)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comet-erasmus-discovered-in-september/927053/2 "2020-12-03T01:02:47Z")
Please please please be visible in the daytime! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comet-erasmus-discovered-in-september/927053/3 "2020-12-03T03:08:54Z")
I wonder how many end-of-times people will wonder if perhaps the Mayans were 8 years off? Being visible at night would be cool enough, but visible in the daytime? Beyond cool! ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comet-erasmus-discovered-in-september/927053/4 "2020-12-03T03:10:00Z")
The linked article says it’s going to reach a maximum brightness of fifth magnitude. That’s barely visible to the naked eye at NIGHT. There’s no way it’s going to be visible during the day unless it’s gets a lot brighter than predicted. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comet-erasmus-discovered-in-september/927053/5 "2020-12-03T03:29:20Z")
I chose that link because it was written in plain English, and not behind a paywall. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comet-erasmus-discovered-in-september/927053/6 "2020-12-03T03:33:24Z")
I don’t think characterizing this as a periodic comet with a period of that length is correct. There’s no way to know if a comet is periodic until it actually visits twice with similar enough orbital characteristics. I think it’s possible that it could be a newly disturbed comet on an orbit that currently has a 2000 year period, but that will likely change a decent bit each time around near the inner planets. I suspect we might be able to predict its return path once it leaves the inner solar system, but it’ll be a long time coming. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2020, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comet-erasmus-discovered-in-september/927053/7 "2020-12-03T04:42:48Z")
I call my dog(s) Erasmus Rascaltude from time to time. Especially that Hickory. She’s a terror! ---
**Author:** ![cannon\_gray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cannon_gray/32/6030_2.png) [@cannon\_gray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cannon_gray)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comet-erasmus-discovered-in-september/927053/8 "2020-12-28T10:42:51Z")
Nicholas Erasmus says the comet’s tail wasn’t possible to capture it in one shot. In the end, a composite image was compiled. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2020, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/comet-erasmus-discovered-in-september/927053/9 "2020-12-28T19:39:46Z")
In the end, that’s what we got. I had originally heard that it could be MINUS 5th magnitude, which could indeed be visible during the day under the right conditions. I did see reports from people who were able to see it at dusk, in one case along with the recent Saturn/Jupiter conjunction. 🤓