The wonderful New Year’s comet – Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy – is about to be at its closest to Earth and therefore (probably) brightest in our sky. Many across the globe have already seen this comet as it has brightened in recent weeks. At its closest to Earth on January 7, 2015, it’ll be 43.6 million miles away (70.2 million km). Plus, the moon is now waning, rising an hour later each evening. You’ll have a window of dark-sky viewing – from the end of twilight until moonrise – from about January 6 or 7 on. More good news. The comet has been moving northward on the sky’s dome. Soon, it’ll be high in Northern Hemisphere skies! Look below for a chart and some recent photos. And check back because new photos are coming in every day now. Follow the links below for more.
This chart comes from SkyandTelescope.com, which has a great and concise article about viewing Comet Lovejoy, which you can read here. Each tick indicates position as of 00:00 GMT (7 p.m. ET on the previous date). Don’t know which direction to look? No matter where you are, look for the three prominent Belt stars of the constellation Orion. You’ll notice them, if you look! Then star-hop from Orion to the comet. Click here for SkyandTelescope’s larger, printer-friendly version of this chart.
How to see Comet Lovejoy. The comet started out as a Southern Hemisphere object, but it is heading northward on the starry dome, coming into easier viewing for Northern Hemisphere observers. It’s now barely at the limit for seeing with the unaided eye. SkyandTelescope.com reported on December 28:
The comet has reached magnitude 5.0! It’s in Lepus, easily visible now from northern latitudes in late evening when Orion stands high. Tonight (December 28) it passes by the globular cluster M79, which is smaller and much fainter at magnitude 8.4. From Sky & Telescope’s hometown at latitude 42° north, the comet is a big puffball in 10×50 binoculars even through suburban light pollution. It appears moderately concentrated toward the center, with a hint of being asymmetric but no visible tail. But the tail is there alright …
Observers using binoculars and small telescopes have also described the comet as:
… a circular patch of white light, roughly half the apparent width of the moon.
The comet most definitely has a tail as seen in photos; we’ve heard some reports that it has lost and regained its tail a few times over the past weeks.
Through much of January, 2015, Q2 will be in an excellent place for viewing from the Northern Hemisphere. It is in and among the favorite northern winter constellations now, currently in front of the constellation Lepus the Hare. Use the charts above to find it. Luckily, it’s passing near Orion, which is one of the sky’s easiest constellations to spot. The most noticeable thing about Orion is its short, straight row of three medium-bright stars, known as Orion’s Belt. Find these stars, and you’re on your way to seeing the comet!
During the first week of January, 2015, the comet will move rapidly to the northwest from Lepus into the constellation Eridanus the River. It’ll be in front of the constellation Taurus the Bull by January 9.
Join the Virtual Telescope Project’s live comet viewing on January 6 and 11.
View larger. | Comet Lovejoy on December 29, 2014 by Justin Ng from Singapore. Visit Justin Ng’s website.
More about Comet Lovejoy. Australian comet-hunter Terry Lovejoy found this comet just before dawn on August 17, 2014 on CCD camera images, while using a Celestron C-8 telescope. Lovejoy was observing from Birkdale, Queensland, Australia. It’s his fifth comet discovery since 2007.
Comets tend to brighten as they draw nearer the sun that binds them in orbit. Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy is no exception; over the past months, it has been getting brighter at it heads toward its January 30 perihelion (closest point to the sun). The comet’s coma (or atmosphere surrounding the comet’s icy nucleus) has grown as the comet has neared the sun. It now measures about 229,000 miles (369,000 km).
Comet Lovejoy is closest to Earth on January 7, 2015. It’s not coming very close to us, hundreds of time farther away than Earth’s moon. At its closest, it’ll be some 43.6 million miles away (70.2 million km). However, its closest point to Earth might well mark its brightest appearance in our sky. The comet might get as bright as magnitude 4.6, well within the limits for observing with the unaided eye.
Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy is a very long-period comet. On the way into the inner solar system, at this return, its path was indicating an orbital period of roughly 11,500 years. But the gravity of our solar system’s planets is thought to have altered the comet’s orbit a bit. Its next return is now being projected for about 8,000 years from now.
Enjoy the photos below and be sure to check back! We’re receiving more wonderful photos of this comet every day.
Comet Lovejoy on December 25, 2014 by Jean Paul Mertens in Chile.
View larger. | Comet Lovejoy on December 20 by Denis Crute in Parkes, NSW, Australia. 80 mm Refractor and Nikon D5200. 60 second exposure at f8 and 6400 ISO. Thank you, Denis!
View larger. | Comet Lovejoy seen on December 19, 2014 by Eric Recurt. Eric was in Tenerife Island, Spain – 28 degrees N. latitude! So you can see that the comet is already coming into view for northern observers. Astrograph 14 ” on ASA DDM 85 mount and FLI PL16803 CCD. Thanks, Eric.
View larger. | How you see Comet Lovejoy will depend on your equipment and sky conditions. Matthew Chin in Hong Kong captured this photo of the comet on December 22, 2014, when the comet was in the constellation Columba. You’ll see the comet as a greenish fuzz-ball, down toward the bottom of the inset.
View larger. | Patrick Prokop in Savannah, Georgia captured this image of Comet Lovejoy on December 26, 2014.
View larger. | Annie Lewis near Madrid, Spain was able to capture the comet by creating a long-exposure photo. This shot is from December 22, 2014. Annie said, “Had another go at C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy tonight. This was the best I could get with my 300 mm zoom. At least it’s come out green tonight!”
Bottom line: How to see Comet Lovejoy, Terry Lovejoy’s 5th comet, plus photos of the comet taken from around the world. This comet is now well placed for viewing from around the globe and will be moving higher in our Northern Hemisphere skies throughout January, 2015. The comet is closest to Earth and probably at its brightest on January 7, 2015.
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/14eK17j
The wonderful New Year’s comet – Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy – is about to be at its closest to Earth and therefore (probably) brightest in our sky. Many across the globe have already seen this comet as it has brightened in recent weeks. At its closest to Earth on January 7, 2015, it’ll be 43.6 million miles away (70.2 million km). Plus, the moon is now waning, rising an hour later each evening. You’ll have a window of dark-sky viewing – from the end of twilight until moonrise – from about January 6 or 7 on. More good news. The comet has been moving northward on the sky’s dome. Soon, it’ll be high in Northern Hemisphere skies! Look below for a chart and some recent photos. And check back because new photos are coming in every day now. Follow the links below for more.
This chart comes from SkyandTelescope.com, which has a great and concise article about viewing Comet Lovejoy, which you can read here. Each tick indicates position as of 00:00 GMT (7 p.m. ET on the previous date). Don’t know which direction to look? No matter where you are, look for the three prominent Belt stars of the constellation Orion. You’ll notice them, if you look! Then star-hop from Orion to the comet. Click here for SkyandTelescope’s larger, printer-friendly version of this chart.
How to see Comet Lovejoy. The comet started out as a Southern Hemisphere object, but it is heading northward on the starry dome, coming into easier viewing for Northern Hemisphere observers. It’s now barely at the limit for seeing with the unaided eye. SkyandTelescope.com reported on December 28:
The comet has reached magnitude 5.0! It’s in Lepus, easily visible now from northern latitudes in late evening when Orion stands high. Tonight (December 28) it passes by the globular cluster M79, which is smaller and much fainter at magnitude 8.4. From Sky & Telescope’s hometown at latitude 42° north, the comet is a big puffball in 10×50 binoculars even through suburban light pollution. It appears moderately concentrated toward the center, with a hint of being asymmetric but no visible tail. But the tail is there alright …
Observers using binoculars and small telescopes have also described the comet as:
… a circular patch of white light, roughly half the apparent width of the moon.
The comet most definitely has a tail as seen in photos; we’ve heard some reports that it has lost and regained its tail a few times over the past weeks.
Through much of January, 2015, Q2 will be in an excellent place for viewing from the Northern Hemisphere. It is in and among the favorite northern winter constellations now, currently in front of the constellation Lepus the Hare. Use the charts above to find it. Luckily, it’s passing near Orion, which is one of the sky’s easiest constellations to spot. The most noticeable thing about Orion is its short, straight row of three medium-bright stars, known as Orion’s Belt. Find these stars, and you’re on your way to seeing the comet!
During the first week of January, 2015, the comet will move rapidly to the northwest from Lepus into the constellation Eridanus the River. It’ll be in front of the constellation Taurus the Bull by January 9.
Join the Virtual Telescope Project’s live comet viewing on January 6 and 11.
View larger. | Comet Lovejoy on December 29, 2014 by Justin Ng from Singapore. Visit Justin Ng’s website.
More about Comet Lovejoy. Australian comet-hunter Terry Lovejoy found this comet just before dawn on August 17, 2014 on CCD camera images, while using a Celestron C-8 telescope. Lovejoy was observing from Birkdale, Queensland, Australia. It’s his fifth comet discovery since 2007.
Comets tend to brighten as they draw nearer the sun that binds them in orbit. Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy is no exception; over the past months, it has been getting brighter at it heads toward its January 30 perihelion (closest point to the sun). The comet’s coma (or atmosphere surrounding the comet’s icy nucleus) has grown as the comet has neared the sun. It now measures about 229,000 miles (369,000 km).
Comet Lovejoy is closest to Earth on January 7, 2015. It’s not coming very close to us, hundreds of time farther away than Earth’s moon. At its closest, it’ll be some 43.6 million miles away (70.2 million km). However, its closest point to Earth might well mark its brightest appearance in our sky. The comet might get as bright as magnitude 4.6, well within the limits for observing with the unaided eye.
Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy is a very long-period comet. On the way into the inner solar system, at this return, its path was indicating an orbital period of roughly 11,500 years. But the gravity of our solar system’s planets is thought to have altered the comet’s orbit a bit. Its next return is now being projected for about 8,000 years from now.
Enjoy the photos below and be sure to check back! We’re receiving more wonderful photos of this comet every day.
Comet Lovejoy on December 25, 2014 by Jean Paul Mertens in Chile.
View larger. | Comet Lovejoy on December 20 by Denis Crute in Parkes, NSW, Australia. 80 mm Refractor and Nikon D5200. 60 second exposure at f8 and 6400 ISO. Thank you, Denis!
View larger. | Comet Lovejoy seen on December 19, 2014 by Eric Recurt. Eric was in Tenerife Island, Spain – 28 degrees N. latitude! So you can see that the comet is already coming into view for northern observers. Astrograph 14 ” on ASA DDM 85 mount and FLI PL16803 CCD. Thanks, Eric.
View larger. | How you see Comet Lovejoy will depend on your equipment and sky conditions. Matthew Chin in Hong Kong captured this photo of the comet on December 22, 2014, when the comet was in the constellation Columba. You’ll see the comet as a greenish fuzz-ball, down toward the bottom of the inset.
View larger. | Patrick Prokop in Savannah, Georgia captured this image of Comet Lovejoy on December 26, 2014.
View larger. | Annie Lewis near Madrid, Spain was able to capture the comet by creating a long-exposure photo. This shot is from December 22, 2014. Annie said, “Had another go at C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy tonight. This was the best I could get with my 300 mm zoom. At least it’s come out green tonight!”
Bottom line: How to see Comet Lovejoy, Terry Lovejoy’s 5th comet, plus photos of the comet taken from around the world. This comet is now well placed for viewing from around the globe and will be moving higher in our Northern Hemisphere skies throughout January, 2015. The comet is closest to Earth and probably at its brightest on January 7, 2015.
from EarthSky http://ift.tt/14eK17j
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