See for Yourself Currently, you will find the comet in the distinctive winter constellation Taurus, the Bull, riding high in the southwestern sky after 8 p.m. local time. Taurus is easy to track down as it sits to the right of the famous constellation Orion, the Hunter, and its belt of three superbright stars lying in a row. In a cosmic coincidence this week, the belt stars point straight to the comet. A sky chart and a pair of binoculars should offer stargazers the best bet for hunting down the faint comet. Start observing at Orions belt and sweep across it to Taurus. Stop when you come across a faint, fuzzy glowing ball—thats the comet. Remember to give your eyes a few minutes to adjust to the darkness first. From January 15 through 17, comet Lovejoy will pass to the right of the famous Pleiades cluster (also called Messier 45), a beautiful, naked-eye open cluster of stars that are also part of Taurus. Expect to see some eye-catching snapshots of this amazing encounter in coming days. If you havent had a chance yet to catch sight of Lovejoy, now is the time to try. Otherwise, youll have to wait another 8,000 years before the comet visits our neck of the solar system once more. Happy hunting!
Posted on: Tue, 13 Jan 2015 23:53:06 +0000
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