William Atkins
Thursday, 19 February 2009 21:18
Science -
Space
Page 1 of 4
Comet Lulin will be making its closest approach to Earth on February 24, 2009. It has already given quite a few surprises as it heads toward us. Now, it is even visible without a telescope, just with your two eyeballs. As a plus, see the comet next to Saturn and four of its moons transiting the planet.
With a magnitude of +5.6 (as of February 19, 2009), Comet Lulin is now visible to the naked eye. Such naked-eye observations will show a faint
“gassy patch” within the constellation Virgo in the night sky.
This article is an update to the original February 5, 2009
iTWire article “
Don't miss Comet Lulin approaching Earth: It's green!” Please read it for additional information.
With the use of a backyard telescope, Comet Lulin will be seen as a
“vivid green comet.”
Its greenish color is the result of the gases being ejected out from the nucleus of the comet as they are heated by the rays of the Sun. The chemical composition of these gases, as they are heated by the radiation (light) from the Sun, makes it appear green to us on Earth.
In fact, an observation from Mariano Ribas of Buenos Aires, Argentina states,
“Today, Feb. 17th at 4 am, I observed the comet with my 3.5-inch refractor. It is much brighter than it was just a few nights ago. I estimate the magnitude at +5.6. If this brightening continues, Lulin could reach magnitude +5.0 or even brighter during its closest approach next week." [SpaceWeather.com: “Comet Lulin”]
This SpaceWeather.com website “
Comet Lulin” contains a comprehensive amount of information on Comet Lulin, including sky maps, ephemerides, and photographs of earlier sightings of the comet.
SpaceWeather.com adds another comment from an observer in Norway. Fredrik Broms of Kvaløya stated,
"Lulin is bright and it is moving fast!" On Feb. 17th the comet was easily detected in a simple pair of 8x42 binoculars, and with a bit of patience it could just be made out with the naked eye. The comet moved a noticable amount during my 4-hour observing session."
Page two continues with information on Comet Lulin and its approach to Earth.
