[meteorite-list] 'New Year's Comet' Lovejoy Reaches Its Peak: Watch for It

[Ron Baalke]

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/new-years-comet-lovejoy-reaches-its-peak-watch-it-n281561

'New Year's Comet' Lovejoy Reaches Its Peak: Watch for It
By Alan Boyle
NBC News
January 7, 2015

It's prime time for Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2), this month's "It" comet: 
Wednesday night marks the comet's closest approach to Earth, at a distance 
of 44 million miles (70 million kilometers), and heralds the start of 
the best season for viewing. But you have to know where to look.

"If you can find Orion shining high in the southeast after dinnertime, 
you'll be looking in the right direction to track down Comet Lovejoy," 
Sky & Telescope senior editor Kelly Beatty said in a news release. Sky 
& Telescope's finder charts should help you spot the comet during the 
next couple of weeks, when it's theoretically bright enough to be seen 
with the naked eye.

"Theoretically" is the operative word, because you'll have a better chance 
of seeing the fuzzball if you're equipped with binoculars or a telescope.

[Chart]
This chart shows the view looking southeast during mid-January at about 
8 p.m. local time. Look to the upper right of the distinctive constellation 
Orion to locate Comet Lovejoy. Binoculars will help.

Photographs reveal a greenish glow to the comet's coma, due to the presence 
of diatomic carbon and cyanogen. There's a faint tail as well, but you're 
unlikely to see that kind of detail with the naked eye.

The comet was discovered last August by Australian amateur astronomer 
Terry Lovejoy, who has discovered four earlier comets (some of which also 
came to the public's attention as "Comet Lovejoy.") For days, skywatchers 
have been posting pictures to Facebook pages and SpaceWeather.com's comet 
gallery. AmazingSky.com's Alan Dyer ranks among the most vigilant comet-watchers.

For more about the prime-time comet, check out the updated viewing guides 
from Space.com, EarthSky.org and Sky & Telescope. Virtual Telescope Project 
2.0 is planning an online viewing party at 2 p.m. ET Jan. 11.

If you're hunting for Comet Lovejoy on Wednesday night, take a look at 
Jupiter and the moon as well. They should be rising over the eastern horizon 
around 8 p.m. local time. "As the evening wears on, both the moon and 
Jupiter will appear to ascend in the sky, side by side," Space.com's Joe 
Rao writes.