Lovejoy Comet is Here!

Over the next two weeks, the Lovejoy Comet (C/2014 Q2) is making an appearance in our early-evening skies.  If you are fortunate to have a dark sky and good vision, it is dimly visible to the naked eye.   Otherwise we strongly recommend using binoculars or low-power, wide field telescope.   It is a long-period comet with an orbit of about 11,500 years.  So if you happen to miss it, it will return in about 8,000 years.  Like most comets, it has a greenish head.  This is the result of diatomic carbon molecules (C₂) fluorescing in ultraviolet sunlight while it travels through the near-vacuum of space.   The tail, which always points away from the sun, is tinted blue from the fluorescing of carbon monoxide ions (CO+).   Its overall whitish appearance is from dust reflecting the sunlight.  It is 44 million miles away and traveling 3° overhead a night which is fast enough so that it may move during a viewing session.  It will be nearest to the sun on January 30th, a mere 120 million miles away.  The comet is named after its discoverer, Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy.  He discovered it on August 17, 2014.  It is the 5^th comet he has discovered from his Brisbane, Queensland home.  There are numerous web-sites providing information on how to locate the Lovejoy comet.  You can find them by typing “Lovejoy Comet 2014” in your search engine.  Photo by Paul Stewart, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/2014_Q2_%28Lovejoy%29