"I took this picture from the forest outside Bleikvassli, Norway, on Dec. 12th" says photographer Tommy Eliassen. "The comet is in the constellation Taurus, which I positioned behind a tall tree for this Christmas composition."

Although the comet is coming very close to Earth, it is not very bright. Wirtanen's icy nucleus is small (~1 km) compared to greater comets such as Hale-Bopp (~30 km) and Halley (~15 km). At the moment it is glowing like a 4th magnitude star, barely visible to the unaided eye.

Now for the good news: This comet is an easy target for digital cameras with exposures as short as 10 to 30 seconds. Astrophotographer Juan Carlos Casado offers some advice to novices: "Use Raw file format, a fast lens (at least f/2.8 ) and ISO settings between 1600 and 3200. The exposure will depend on the focal length. I normally use the 500 rule–that is, exposure = 500 / focal length (mm). It also helps in areas with light pollution to use an antipollution filter. I am now using Optolong L-Pro clip filter which gives excellent color balance."

On the nights of closest approach, 46P/Wirtanen can be found in the constellation Taurus high in the sky before midnight. Sky watchers in the northern hemisphere may orient themselves using these sky maps: Dec. 14, Dec. 15, Dec. 16