Christmas and New Year Skies. We may be set for a stunning Christmas comet this year. Following its discovery by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy in August, Comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy is fast becoming a must see sight in our skies. It was first spotted in the constellation of Puppis at a magnitude of 15, but as it continues on its approach towards the Sun the comet has brightened considerably, reaching around magnitude 6 by mid December and easily visible in binoculars. The comet has been brightening faster than expected, and latest estimates put it at around magnitude 5.6. From a clear dark location it is now possible to spot it with the naked eye moving through the constellation of Columba, just above Canis Major, in our eastern evening sky and heading towards the constellation of Lepus. At the beginning of January the comet moves from Lepus through Eridanus and continues on towards Triangulum. It should continue to brighten further over the coming weeks and is predicted to reach a peak magnitude of around 4.4 on the 10th of January, when it will be passing through the constellation of Taurus. Sadly from around mid January onwards Comet Lovejoy moves progressively further north and won’t be visible from here in the New Zealand. So get out there and grab a glimpse whilst you can. Mercury and Venus will make an eye-catching pair, low in the south-western evening twilight. Because both Mercury and Venus are closer to the Sun than we are, they always appear close to the Sun in the sky, either following the Sun down in the west in the evening, or rising just before it in the east in the morning. The pair will remain close together until mid-January, when Mercury starts to move back towards the Sun and disappears into the twilight. A little above and to the right of this pair is red Mars, which will slowly move towards Venus over the next two months. Of course there is one thing we will all be looking out for in the skies on Christmas night, and here in New Zealand we are one of the first countries on the list for a visit from the Man in Red. You can track Santa’s progress around the world at https://santatracker.google. Sadly, you won’t be able to spot him in binoculars or a small telescope - he is moving far too fast!
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 01:07:02 +0000
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