Night Sky Alert! Comet Lulin

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Photo by Michael Jaeger

Many thanks to Paul Derrik in Waco for this heads up. Paul is an amateur astronomer with 50 years of observing under his belt. He has been teaching an astronomy class for beginners in Waco for years. I've heard great things about it. I wish it were available here in Austin.

Below is the text of Paul's write up about Comet Lulin. Though this comet will be better seen through binoculars than the naked eye it's got one major thing going for it in my opinion. It'll be right next to Saturn-the brightest object in the eastern sky this coming week. That means you'll have a great reference point to find it.

To find it face South and look up to your right a bit.

From Paul:

In this column we usually call attention only to night sky objects that can be seen without optical aids, but we're making an exception this time. There's a new comet passing by that is worth a look.

Comet Lulin, discovered in July 2007 in China, is best seen in binoculars although it might barely reach naked-eye brightness away from city lights. Now visible in the evenings, it looks like a very faint fuzz-ball with a bright center. Traveling east-to-west along the ecliptic (the path of the Sun, Moon and planets) and is rising earlier each night, Lulin passes several interesting objects.



For the next few nights it approaches and passes Saturn, the brightest starlike object in the east. Tonight about 9:30 p.m. Saturn is 25 degrees above the eastern horizon. (The width of your fist held at arm's length is 10 degrees.) Comet Lulin is 10 degrees below Saturn. If you keep watching an hour or so, the comet gets easier to see as it rises further above the horizon.

Tomorrow night it is 5 degrees below the planet, both being within the same field of view of most binoculars. Monday evening should be spectacular when the comet passes 2 degrees to Saturn's right. By Tuesday evening, it is 6 degrees above the planet, and is expected to be nearest Earth and at its brightest.

By Wednesday, it is up by 8 p.m. and mid way between Saturn and Leo's brightest star Regulus which is 25 degrees above Saturn. Then for three nights the comet and star will be within the same field of view with Lulin 5 degrees below the star Thursday, 2 degrees to its right Friday, and 5 degrees above it Saturday.

Then moonlight becomes a problem in the evening as the waxing crescent Moon, setting an hour later each evening, grows more illuminated and brighter and washes out the comet.

Diehards, however, can continue following the comet by staying up later each evening (or rising very early) until the comet sets around 5 a.m. And it might be worth the effort when Comet Lulin passes near the beautiful Beehive star cluster the mornings of Mar. 5 and 6. The moon sets at 2:40 a.m. Mar. 5 and 3:40 a.m. Mar. 6 when the comet and cluster are at their closest.

After that viewing Comet Lulin will probably be over for most of us as the Moon gets in the way and the comet will likely have dimmed notably. So let's hope for clear skies so we can catch this surprise visitor before it returns to its home in the deep freeze of the outer solar system.

Paul writes a column which he is kind enough to email to non-Waco people. You can ask him to put you on the list by emailing: paulderrickwaco@aol.com

(Stargazer appears every other week in the Waco Tribune-Herald and other newspapers. Paul Derrick is an amateur astronomer who lives in Waco. Write him at 918 N. 30th St., Waco, TX 76707, call or fax at (254) 753-6920, or e-mail at paulderrickwaco@aol.com.

Copyright 2009 by Paul Derrick. Permission is granted for free electronic distribution as long as these paragraphs are included. Please obtain permission from the author for publication in any other form. To be added to (or removed from) the free e-mail distribution list, send your e-mail address (and name) to paulderrickwaco@aol.com.)
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