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Just an update, David Moore in Ireland spotted the comet easily in 20x80 binoculars on january 1 and estimated the comet at magnitude 2.5-3.0. This observation was made with the comet just 3 degrees above the horizon in very bright twilight (sun 9 degrees down).
Scott, make sure the sun is obscured by a building and ensure there is no sunlight shining into the tube (it will scatter light and greatly reduce contrast). John Bortle determined mag -1.5 as the minimum brightness for daylight detection near the sun, but it takes some practice to achieve this. In the nineteenth century there were a few skill visual observers that were able to follow these objects close to the sun (these same observers followed planets through solar conjunction), but few people do this these days.
Terry
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