During the dark interval it will continue moving north, past Andromeda's feet and Perseus's outstretched arm, as shown on our February-March finder chart below.ĭuring the moonless nights of March (roughly March 8th through 24th), it will be crossing the W pattern of Cassiopeia fading from 7th to 8th or 9th magnitude, still within good telescopic reach. By the time moonlight comes back into the evening sky around February 22nd, Lovejoy should be 6th magnitude. By then, the comet should be 5th magnitude and perhaps further changing form. from the Sun.Ī moonless window of darkness begins opening again right after nightfall on February 5th or 6th (depending on your location) as you anticipate where to see Comet Lovejoy tonight. That's because it didn't reach perihelion, its closest to the Sun, until January 30th - at a rather distant 1.29 a.u. Although the comet is receding from us, its intrinsic brightness has increased a trace since then. Lovejoy passed closest by Earth on January 7th at a distance of 0.47 a.u. The Moon continues brightening and will be full on February 3rd. By the 24th, light from the waxing Moon was posing interference. On the evenings of January 17th and 18th, the comet passed 8° west-southwest of the Pleiades. Gerald Rhemann took this image on December 23rd remotely operating a 12-inch f/3.6 astrograph in Namibia. In December when the comet was a little farther from the Sun than it is now, most of its tail was puffy and blobby compared to the linear striations that now dominate. You may prefer our larger, print-friendly versions to take outside: January chart, February-March chart. on the previous date Eastern Standard Time. On the finder charts below, the date ticks on the comet's track are at 0:00 Universal Time, which is 7 p.m. A Comet of the High Dark: Where to See Comet Lovejoy TonightĬomet Lovejoy continues sailing northwestward, through Triangulum toward the feet of Andromeda. This shot was taken in a one-hour hole in the clouds." He processed it from 30 minutes of R, G, and B exposures made with an 80mm f/4.6 apo refractor under a very dark Arizona sky. "Visually in binoculars I was able to trace the tail well beyond the Pleiades, about 10° or so. "I have both viewed and imaged hundreds of comets," writes Chris Schur, "but none quite like this one! The two bright, band-like rays in the tail are unprecedented." He took this image on January 18th. This is a stack of 10 two-minute exposures at f/2.5 and ISO 1600. Image by Alan Dyer using a 135mm telephoto lens and Canon 5D MkII camera on a Star Adventurer tracking mount. Comet Lovejoy near the Pleiades on January 14th. Don't expect to see the dim tail, though it has been showing very well photographically. Nevertheless, in binoculars it's still a gray fuzzball with a brighter core that's noticeably off center. The moonlight this week makes it harder to find. Use the January or the February-March finder chart at the very bottom of this page to know where to see Comet Lovejoy tonight by locating its position among the stars. They used an 8-inch f/3.8 Newtonian reflector and a QSI 583wsg CCD camera, for a total exposure time of 32 minutes through L, R, G, and B filters. Comet Lovejoy on the evening of January 19th, imaged by Sean Walker and Sheldon Faworski. (See current brightness estimates look for 2014 Q2.) Moreover, it's currently visible only through moonlight. Read below to learn where to see Comet Lovejoy tonight!Ĭomet Lovejoy, C/2014 Q2, has faded somewhat from its peak brightness to about magnitude 4½. But you'll be looking through moonlight until February 5th or 6th.
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