Comet Lulin is now visible to the naked eye
NAKED-EYE COMET: Comet Lulin is now visible to the naked eye from dark-sky sites. “This morning, I noticed a faint smudge above Zubenelgenubi,” reports Jeff Barton from the Comanche Springs Astronomy Campus in West Texas. “I then trained my 9×63 binoculars on the fuzzy patch. Yep, nailed it! I was thrilled to finally bag Comet Lulin without optical aid.”
If optical aid is offered, however, don’t refuse it. The view through a small telescope is dynamite:
Gregg Ruppel took the picture from his backyard observatory in Ellisville, Missouri. It shows the green comet gliding by double star Zubenelgenubi on Feb. 6th.
Photo deleted 7/9/2009. Visit www.spaceweather.com archives to view.
Another report of naked-eye visibility comes from Martin McKenna of Maghera, Northern Ireland: “I went out for a look at Comet Lulin this morning before dawn with my telescope and binoculars. The Moon was very low, so I stood within the shadow of my house and tried to see the comet without optical aid. Using averted vision, I was able to glimpse the comet perhaps a dozen times! It looked like a large grey patch of light very close to Zubenelgenubi. The sight gave me a warm glow on such a frigid frosty night.”
Comet Lulin rises in the east just a few hours before the sun. See for yourself: sky map.
