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Late notice: Comet McNaught visible in the West in 2 HOURS

Discussion

3 replies
Posted by Dave Rodenbaugh on January 10, 2007 at 6:30 PM
COMET MCNAUGHT: When the sun sets tonight, go outside immediately and look west. Cloud permitting, you may see the brightest comet in thirty years hanging just above the horizon.

http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/icq/brightest.html

"What a beautiful sight! Last night, comet McNaught (C/2006 P1) was easily visible to the naked eye and even more stunning in 10x50 binoculars," reports Chris Cook of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. "The star-like nucleus glowed with a golden hue as a broad elegant tail extended more than one degree: http://www.spaceweather.com/comets/mcnaught/09jan07/Cook1.jpg."

Sunset is 4:54pm. A clear view of the horizon and binoculars are essential...The comet is located low and just to the right of Venus.

Hope someone can see it!
-D
Posted by Dave Rodenbaugh on January 10, 2007 at 6:42 PM
By most accounts of the people in the Denver Astronomical Society, unfortunately, by the time it gets dark enough that we might see the comet, it is obscured by the mountains. If you were to go up into the mountains where you could truly see the horizon, you’d have a better chance.

People in the plains and on the west coast (where the western horizon is unobscured) have been reporting spectacular views of the comet.

Sorry to cry wolf...
Posted by Dave Rodenbaugh on January 10, 2007 at 6:54 PM
Here's another article about it if you are interested...
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/01/10/29536.aspx
Posted by Grant Collier on January 10, 2007 at 9:20 PM
Thanks for the info. It looks like this will be visible for a few more days right after sunset if the skies are clear and you can see the horizon. Of course, those are big ifs. It looks like the only possible chance in Colorado is the eastern plains on Thurs., where it may be partly cloudy. Most places to the west will likely be completely overcast for a few days.