Hi Reverend,
IT'S VISIBILE NOW !
Yesterday I did a write up on it our facebook page.
If you don't have access to facebook, I'll copy & paiste below.
In particular, take a look at my easy guide to finding it in one of the links
Quote:
Heads up Australia! Please welcome our new Christmas comet -
C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy! Could we *be* any more proud & happy for IceInspace member Terry Lovejoy right now?! He's given us our second Christmas comet (the unforgettable great Aussie Christmas comet W3 in 2011 was the other). Honestly, he's spoiling us rotten lol.
High-Res: http://www.astrobin.com/full/140997/0/
Now, Q2 isn't as bright as the great 2011 Christmas comet - BUT - it has now become the brightest comet of 2014 currently sitting around magnitude 5 in the constellation of Puppis, after recently undergoing a rapid brightening by a whole magnitude (don't confuse this with an outburst event which at this stage, doesn't seem to be). So don't be surprised if it ends up making 4th magnitude by the end of Dec/early Jan. Reports are coming thru that it's just visible to the naked eye from a dark site as a small dim round, fuzzy patch. If you have binoculars, get them out! They show a gorgeous sight- the comet is quite large and hard to miss (I observed it in binoculars over a bright street light and had no problems seeing it). But please don't expect to see a tail (tho some sharp eyed observers from a dark site might spot some tail), just embrace the beauty.
Puppis is loaded with observing eye candy. If you're interested in doing a tour of the area after you've seen the comet, see my guide here (covers binocular & telescope targets along with some serious challenges for bigger telescopes):
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...d.php?t=128740
If you're new to astronomy and have a pair of binoculars and don't know where to begin in finding it, I've done a very easy guide here (if you want further help, join as a member and ask in the link):
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?p=1140513#post114051 3
Further helpful links (incl. guides/maps/finder charts):
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astro...vejoy-1211142/
http://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/...2-lovejoy.html
Image Credit: Rolando Ligustri, 15th December, 2014.
-Suzy.
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