Find Comet Lovejoy near Orion!

If you have a telescope, binoculars, or sharp eyes and a dark sky, you can see a comet passing through the sky for the next couple of weeks! Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy is faintly visible to the unaided eye near Orion in a dark sky right now. With binoculars or a telescope it will be easier to spot on a clear night. 

Path of Comet Lovejoy through our sky in January. The times are midnight at Universal time, so if you are in the Central timezone, you need to subtract 6 hours.  Image Credit: SkyandTelescope.com

To find the comet, first find Orion. If you are looking shortly after sunset, Orion will be rising in the east. By 10 PM, Orion will be standing straight up in the south. Consult the above star chart to find out where the comet will be on the night you are looking, since it will be in a different place each night. Tonight, 1/12/15, it will be about parallel with Orion's shoulder and to the right. It will be faint to the unaided eye, especially in city lights. However, it is bright enough that it should be visible through binoculars and certainly a telescope! 

Orion rises in the east after sunset. He is easily recognizable by the three stars in his belt and the rectangle of bright stars around the belt. Image Credit: Stellarium

Orion stands straight up at about 10 PM. If you can find Orion, you can find the comet! Image Credit: Stellarium 

It will look like a small, fuzzy blob in the sky. Here are a few amazing long exposure photographs of it taken by astrophotographers: 

Comet Lovejoy photographed by Gerald Rhemann

Photograph by Chris Schur.

 
If you aren't sure what a comet is, check out this entry about comets and the Rosetta mission. Comets are usually named after the person who discovers them. There are five Comet Lovejoys, named after the amateur astronomer, Terry Lovejoy. Here is a gorgeous image of another Comet Lovejoy: 

Comet C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy) photographed from the International Space Station, 2011. Image Credit: NASA/Wikipedia Commons

If you would like to learn more about what's up in the night sky, visit the Dome Planetarium at the Peoria Riverfront Museum. You can even take an astronomy class in the Dome! 

Beer and Brats Under the Stars is coming right up!