Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Comet Sighting

So, unexpectedly a comet got really bright over the last day or so. It is the talk of the astronomy web sites, and I had to check it out. There was a lucky break in the rain and clouds tonight, so I headed outside. Sure enough, there was an "extra" star in Perseus. I aimed and got a great view. It wasn't a typical comet with a tail. It has a solid white middle with a haze all around it - like a pulled apart cotton ball. It is between Mars and Jupiter - so quite far! It is incredible that something so small can be bright enough to be seen over millions of miles. It has increased in brightness almost 1 million times in the past 24 hours according to some web sites.



It can be seen with the naked eye very easily - if the clouds give you a break!