Just saw comet Lovejoy

[Blues Heron]

Went out with the binocs, nice clear night, was able to find it by looking west of orion's belt and south of the pleiades. No tail that I could see, just a fuzzball for now, but cool to see anyway!

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/spot-comet-lovejoy-tonight-122920141/

[Callmecrazy]

1. I did the same thing tonight...

Saw the fuzzy green star through my binoculars before it clouded up tonight. Astronomy is my hobby
and comets are a treat. Maybe I'll set up the scope this weekend.

[Blues Heron]

2. Great! Good luck with the scope

Comet fever! Definitely a treat.

[AlbertCat]

3. Cool!

Of course it's cloudy now.


I remember seeing Hale-Bopp in the 90's. It had a text book appearance.... tho' I remember it being dimmer than I expected.

[postulater]

4. -20 windchill here tonight but tomorrow night

I'll go out and see it. I'm going to Florida and will be in the central part where the sky gets quite dark at night. I think there's a couple hours between senset and moonrise that should be good.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Green Comet Lovejoy Photobombs Night Sky

Green Comet Lovejoy Photobombs Night Sky
Photos by Stargazers

by Kelly Dickerson, Space.com Staff Writer | January 09, 2015 02:30pm ET


[font size=1]
Night sky photographer Tyler Leavitt used a wide-angle lens to capture this photo of the green Comet Lovejoy
from Las Vegas, Nevada on Jan. 7, 2015. The comet is shown first in a wide-angle view with the Orion
constellation, with the inset box showing the view from a telephoto lens.

Credit: Tyler Leavitt
[/font]
Amateur astronomers captured amazing photos of a bright comet as it raced across the sky this week.

The comet was officially catalogued as C/2014 Q2, but many refer to it as Comet Lovejoy, named for the amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy who discovered it in August 2014. On Wednesday night (Jan. 7) the comet reached its closest distance to Earth at about 43.6 million miles (70.2 million kilometers) away. The comet is traveling on a particularly elongated orbit and likely won't be visible again for another 8,000 years.

The comet is now faintly visible to the unaided eye in dark locations, but the bright January moon has been making it difficult for stargazers to spot it. Night sky photographer Tyler Leavitt of Las Vegas, Nevada was able to snap some photos of the comet Wednesday. [How to See Comet Lovejoy]

"I ran out tonight to try and grab a glimpse of Comet Lovejoy," Leavitt told Space.com via email."Some high clouds were moving in, but I managed to grab a couple of photos."

Leavitt was able to snap one photo with a wide-angle lens and later drew in a box around the comet to help it stand out. For a second, close-up photo he used a telephoto lens and a tracking mount.

More:
http://www.space.com/28219-green-comet-lovejoy-amateur-photos.html

[Panich52]

6. Directions, charts, links, photos

EarthSky - info on finding the comet & links f/ more info...

[link:http://earthsky.org/space/watch-for-comet-lovejoy?utm_source=EarthSky+News&utm_campaign=599eaaa2e2-EarthSky_News&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c643945d79-599eaaa2e2-393525109|