comet-panstarrs
Picture of Janet

Janet

The Comet Pan-STARRS, visible on Silent Bob’s Birthday!

Reading Time: < 1 minute

I always thought it was reassuring to know that no matter where on the planet we are the ones we care about watch the same sky.

Should you have binocs and are with those you might care to share…

Tonight and tomorrow night is your chance to see the Comet Pan-STARRS.  It’s not a spectacular comet like Hyakutake or Hale-Bopp was, but you can definitely see the tail in a good pair of binoculars, if you can find a location with a good view to the west with an unobstructed horizon.  You don’t need a telescope – a good pair of binoculars is fine.  The tail is about a degree long as seen from Rice University, probably several degrees if you observe from out of town.  Don’t know what its like where you are..

The comet will be easiest to spot tonight and tomorrow.

Tonight, the comet will be in the west, just above and to the left of a tiny crescent moon, just after sunset.

Wednesday night, the comet will be below and to the right of, the crescent moon.  (the Moon moves 12 degrees a day!)

There is most likely a smart phone app at your fingertips that will help you find this comet!

This is what it looked like 3 days ago in Australia!

comet-panstarrs

 

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent posts!