Well, so much for seeing the comet during the day TODAY. Our little corner of New England is wet, cold, icy, and rainy. Time’s a runnin’ out to see McNaught, and I may have to content myself with viewing it in other people’s pictures. It wouldn’t be the first time, nor will it be the last. That’s the tantalizing thing about backyard astronomy: sometimes you get to see the cool stuff; sometimes you don’t. But, the views—when they’re good—are what keeps you coming back to the stars for another helping.
Comet Hale-Bopp, from Dale Ogren's comet image collection
I remember back in 1996 when we had Comet Hyakutake gracing the skies. No shortage of clear, cold nights THAT year. And then, later on, I had a chance to view Hale-Bopp from a variety of locations. Even though I studied comet plasma tails in grad school—and mind you, plasma tails can be VERY cool to study—the sight of those vast, sweeping dust tails was just sublime. SO otherworldly. I could stand there and think about my science AND appreciate the beauty of the night sky with a comet arcing across it. The scene in the image below is what I see in my mind’s eye when I think of those wonderful comet-gazing experiences.
Photo by Mark Vorhusen of Switzerland, as posted on Spaceweather.com
D’oh!! Why didn’t we think of this sooner? A tip of the ol’ Plasma Tail to Phil Plait over at Bad Astronomy for pointing out that you CAN see Comet McNaught during the day (as discussed over at Spaceweather.com.)
Let me stress that you should be VERY careful about looking at the comet, as it’s close to the Sun. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that you don’t want to look directly at the Sun because it’ll burn your eyes. So, pay attention, guard your eyes while you feast them on the comet. Here’s how: simply put a building between you and the Sun, look about one fist-width east of the Sun and you should be able to make it out. Try it over the next couple of days and hope for clear weather!I should point out that a photo is going to show more than a naked eye glance, but see what you can find. How many times in your life will you get a chance to spot a naked-eye comet during broad daylight?
P.S. While you’re at it, check out the real-time space images of the comet at the SOHO website.
