They Comet and Goeth!

The year 2015 is starting out with a swoosh for the sky watching crowd.  Comet Lovejoy is making a rare visit to our neck of the solar system.  This comet was discovered only last August (by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy, thus the name).  Unlike our more famous comet, Halley, which has a period of 75-76 years (period is the number of years needed for a comet to complete its solar orbit), Lovejoy’s period is approximately 8,000 years.  If you miss it this time, any descendants of yours around to witness the next visit are likely to regard you as an ancestor as we do the caveman.

Comet Lovejoy

I have tried unsuccessfully to find Lovejoy thus far.  The glow of the full moon was too bright the first couple of nights and then last night, the sky clouded up.  As the month progresses and the moon rises later (it rises just a bit less than one hour later each night) an observer will have a longer period of post twilight darkness to find and observe the comet.  Here in metropolitan California, you will likely need the aid of binoculars or a small telescope as the comet’s natural brightness is not enough to overcome ambient light to view with the naked eye.

You have seen pictures of comets with their tails leaving the impression that they whoosh across the night sky.  This is misleading.  On any particular night, the comet will appear stationary in the sky.  It is moving (at incredible speed) but the sky is so vast that it takes hours to make any appreciable progress against the background of stars.  However, from night to night, if you are dedicated enough to watch, you will notice that the comet has moved along its orbital path, just as the planets do, i.e. it will be in a different position relative to the stars and constellations.

Comet Halley

I was lucky enough to see Halley’s comet in 1986 (I doubt I’ll last long enough for its next appearance in 2061) and it remains one of the highlights of my sky watching experience.  I was fortunate enough to experience Halley during a camping trip to Joshua Tree National Park where the light pollution was minimal.  It was my first comet and to my surprise, did not resemble the large telescope images or the artists’ conception illustrations.  Rather than a bright point with a flaming tail, a comet will appear as a (small) cloudy or misty blob.  If it is reflecting enough sunlight, or you have a more powerful telescope, you may detect a bright spot within the blob.  That will be the body of the comet itself, the fog being the halo of detritus swept off of the comet by the solar wind.

Rather than attempt (and most likely fail) to instruct you in how to locate the comet, I suggest you Google “green comet” (so nicknamed for its green tint) which will offer you several websites that can take you through the mechanics.  The comet, depending on weather conditions, should be visible through much of January.

Good hunting!