Evening Comet Watching to End in Mid-January

From now through mid-January is the last chance to see Halley’s comet in the evening sky, although the comet will be at its brightest in the spring.

Those who wait until March, when the comet should be about six times brighter than it is now, will have to get up early in the morning to see it. The comet then will be visible for only about an hour before sunrise.

But from now through the middle of January, Halley can be seen through binoculars in the west-southwest sky shortly after dark. It will be above Jupiter, which should be easy to locate because that planet is by far the brightest object in that part of the sky.

Only a Small Tail

The comet will look like a fuzzy patch of cotton with only a slight tail, according to the International Halley Watch at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

By late January the comet will be lost in twilight as it begins its journey around the far side of the sun. By late February it will re-emerge as it approaches the Earth on its way back to the outer solar system, but it will rise above the horizon for only about an hour or so before dawn overwhelms the image.

Halley will make its closest approach to Earth on April 11, when the view from the southern hemisphere should be impressive, but it will take a bit of a struggle by people to the north if they are to see the comet during that period.

Mary Firth, a spokesperson with the International Halley Watch, said the view in early March from any dark area should be fairly good. But by April, when the comet will be low on the horizon, only those who journey to the highest elevations this far north will have any chance of seeing the comet. So a trip to the desert or the inland hills should do it in January or March, but by April viewers will have to head for the peaks.

Halley will probably prove a disappointment to most observers during the “apparition,” as astronomers call it, because the celestial geometry does not favor good viewing. Comets are at their brightest when they are the closest to the sun, but during this visit that will occur when Halley is on the opposite side of the sun.

Halley, which like all periodic comets is affected by the gravitational field of other planets as well as the sun, does not follow the same course every visit and this time it will never come very close to the Earth.

So no matter where you go to see it, according to the experts, take along a good pair of binoculars.

COMET WATCH The Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s International Halley Comet Watch hot lines: Inexperienced sky observers (818) 354-4300 Amateur astronomers (818) 354-4301