Comet Lovejoy is favorably located in the night sky for late-night observers.
As the world waits for comet ISON to swing around the sun, there is still a very nice comet favorably located in the night sky for late-night observers. Located just off the handle of the Big Dipper in the constellation of Canes Venatici, comet Lovejoy is an easy binocular object at 5th magnitude. A bright, greenish coma and a tail are very evident in this three-minute exposure taken on the morning of Nov. 26 using a 6″ Takahashi refractor located in New Mexico. At the time of this image, comet Lovejoy was 40 million miles from Earth and 88 million miles from the sun. It reaches perihelion (closest approach to the sun) on Dec. 22.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC/MEO/Aaron Kingery