Anyone up for a Little Comet Watching?

[RenaissanceLady]

Times like this, I'm actually glad I live up a mountain in BFE. Weather permitting, I may be able to get a good view:

There’s a lot of excitement about Comet ISON, which might become a very bright comet, visible across the globe, by the end of 2013. But, before that happens, a second comet is on track to become visible to the eye alone when it’s closest to the sun in March of 2013. This February 2013, we are beginning to get the first photos of Comet PANSTARRS on our Facebook page, from friends in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s already visible with binoculars, and it already has a fan-shaped tail. In March 2013, this comet will come into view for Northern Hemisphere skywatchers and, by some estimates, it should brighten enough to see with the unaided eye. I was hearing “as bright as Venus” for awhile. Now I’m hearing “as bright as the stars in the Big Dipper” or “as bright as the stars in Orion’s Belt.” Just remember that comets are notoriously difficult to predict. As comet-hunter David Levy once famously said:

Comets are like cats; they have tails, and they do precisely what they want.​

March 5, 2013. Comet PANSTARRS passes closest to Earth at 1.10 Astronomical Units, (AU). One AU equals one Earth-sun distance, about 93 million miles or 150 million kilometers. In other words, this comet will pass slightly farther from us than our distance from the sun. No worries about it hitting us.
Starting about March 7, 2013. PANSTARRS will appear above the western horizon after sunset for Northern Hemisphere viewers. To see it, you will need an unobstructed, cloudless view of the west after sunset. It is best to pick a dark spot, away from streetlights. Look in the sunset direction, as soon as the sky darkens. The comet will be just above the horizon.
March 10. The comet passes closest to the sun – as close as our sun’s innermost planet, Mercury – at 0.30 AU – or about 28 million miles (45 million kilometers). Comets are typically brightest and most active around the time they are closest to the sun when solar heating vaporizes ice and dust from the comet’s outer crust. Not only will the comet quickly brighten, but it should also develop the long classic comet dust tail.
Around March 12 and 13. Moonlight will interfere with the darkness of the night sky, but there should be some wonderful photo opportunities as the young moon returns to the same part of the sky as the comet.

Everything you need to know: Comet PANSTARRS in March 2013 | Space | EarthSky​

 

[nameless]

should be March 12 uklanders.