Posted on 01/01/2015 7:01:59 PM PST by Jack Hydrazine
2014 hasn’t even ended yet and we already have one of the best comets of 2015 showing off in our skies: C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy), already visible to the naked eye and predicted to get brighter over the next couple of weeks!
This is the fifth comet discovered by Australian "amateur" astronomer Terry Lovejoy. In 2011, one of “his” comets made a spectacular pass through the sky. This one may not be quite so ostentatious, but its location and brightness make it a winner. On Jan. 7 it will pass about 70 million kilometers (44 million miles) from Earth, and it’s predicted to peak around 4th magnitude; easily visible from dark skies without optical aid.
As a bonus, it’s passing near the constellation of Orion, making it easier to find, and it’ll also glide past Taurus and the Pleiades, providing for what should be some pretty photogenic scenes. It’s moving roughly north, so it gets higher all the time for Northern Hemisphere observers.
(Excerpt) Read more at slate.com ...
Clear and cold here tonight. We found Orion easily. Found Lepus. Lots of dots visible in binos. Nothing with a tail. Should it have a tail now?
The night sky is the same for everyone on earth, and the exact same at latitude.
Saw the comet easily with binoculars under a half moon and am in a badly light polluted area, it looked as bright as the Andromeda Galaxy. When the Moon is waning, I’ll go see it from a dark-sky site...should be incredible!
No, it's not. Those in the northern hemisphere cannot see stars that are above the southern sky and vice versa.
Yes, we do. But if this lousy weather trend continues ......
I was surprised at how bright the moon was last night because we haven’t seen it very often the past month. We’re hoping for a break in the pattern for a while. Sunshine during the day would be really nice and some good comet-viewing weather at night would be awesome.
There is a tail but it is point away from us so it is pretty short.
Correct, better stated, the night sky is the same for those at the same latitude.
Wow, I've used some web based services before but this is incredible!
It’s pretty darn kewl!
Nice thing about winter in Hawaii: the humidity can drop to desert like levels, less than 30%, and the sky can be painfully clear at night. Colder than Hildebeast's **** as well.
I’ll trade you some zero F lows from Kansas for your 50F lows.
Thanks Jack Hydrazine, extra to APoD.
Saw it last night in 10x50 binos and my 4” refractor.
Just a fuzzy blob in Lepus.
Moon too bright to see more.
Hoping it’ll look great in a week or so.
Yes, give it about a week or so and things should improve with a waning Moon.
COMET LOVEJOY/NOW AT CLOSE APPROACH
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwGmS4f8rv0
Won’t be seen again for another 8,000 years.
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