Its days of glory long past, Comet Machholz continues to fade as it moves farther from Earth and Sun. But it's still in reach of telescopes. As of early May 2005 it was 9th magnitude near the bowl of the Big Dipper. It should fade to magnitude 10 by May's end. Find it using the chart below (click the chart for full view).
Don Machholz of Colfax, California, discovered the comet last August 27th, when he swept up a dim, 11th-magnitude smudge in Eridanus while using a vintage 6-inch f/8 Criterion Dynascope reflector (see "Machholz Discovers His 10th Comet"). Its orbit lies entirely outside Earth’s; perihelion on January 24th found the comet 1.2 a.u. from the Sun.
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