#EarthSky #SouthernHemisphere #CometLovejoy #CometC2014Q2Lovejoy 【HOW TO #SEE COMET LOVEJOY, PLUS BEST #PHOTOS!】 . —Release date: Tuesday, December 30, 2014. . RECENT DESCRIPTIONS OF COMET C/2014 Q2 LOVEJOY — NOW BARELY VISIBLE TO THE #EYE AS SEEN FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE. PLUS FINDER CHARTS AND BEST PHOTOS! . Skywatchers with binoculars and telescopes in the Southern Hemisphere got a first look at Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy – or Comet Q2 as many are calling it. It has been brightening and can now be seen from latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, as it moves toward its closest approach to Earth on January 7, 2015. Then it’ll be 43.6 million miles away (70.2 million km). Soon, the comet will be high in Northern Hemisphere skies! Look below for a chart and some recent photos. And check back! New photos are coming in every day now. . ➡ 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 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. . ➡ 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. . SOURCE. © Copyright 2014 by EarthSky, Updates on your Cosmos and World © Earthsky Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. earthsky.org/space/watch-for-comet-lovejoy . ───── . #TerryLovejoy #GreenComet https://facebook/terry.lovejoy.549 https://youtube/channel/UC9bIRXv73Ob3mY0pdGVifgg space/13957-doomed-sungrazing-comet-terry-lovejoy-interview.html en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Lovejoy realscience.us/people/terry-lovejoy/ .
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 03:06:32 +0000
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