10P/Tempel

10P/Tempel, also known as Tempel 2, is a large Jupiter-family comet roughly 10 km in diameter with a 5.4 year orbit around the Sun. It was discovered on 4 July 1873 by Wilhelm Tempel. As of late August 2026, the comet is around apparent magnitude 9 with a declination of –33. The orbital dust trail created from particles ejected by the nucleus over hundreds of years is visible in images of the comet. At perihelion passage on 2 August 2026 the solar elongation was 164 degrees at a magnitude of approximately 8–9 with a declination of –24. The closest approach to Earth was the next day on 3 August 2026 at a distance of 0.414 AU (61.9 million km). The comet got into the reach of most binoculars.