Comet in March

[Verylostinspace]

Hi just joined and was hopping for some info on the comet in march as viewed from W.A. I have a mid range refractor and a nice set of eye prices, any suggestions on the best time to view, where to look ect.

[carl37]

Hi Dane - welcome.

The March comet I presume you are talking about is C/2011 L4 PanSTARRS.
It is currently low in the sky at dusk in the WSW, so the best time is to start looking as soon as the sun sets. You need a low horizon. If you're on the west coast then looking over the ocean is ideal.

You should be able to pick it up with the naked eye when it gets dark enough, but binoculars would be a big help.

Be aware that it will only be visible for another week or so when it moves to the northern hemisphere.

See the Solar System photo board to see some examples of what you are looking for!

Good luck!!

Carl

[Jon]

Hi Dane,

There's another comet visible right now, low in the South in the evenings: C/2012 F6 Lemmon. Unlike PANSTARRS, you won't read about it in any of the astronomy magazines as it brightened somewhat unexpectedly a few months ago. There are some great images of it in the images section of the forum and a good thread on spotting it (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=102989http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=102989).

Cheers

Jonathan