From here at Stansbury the artificial light pollution is not a problem tonight but the natural light pollution from the Moon sure is. Lovejoy is pretty easy to see in 11x80s but the Moon really has it washed out. Looking forward to a few days from now when the Moon should be less of a factor and the comet at its predicted brightest. patrick On 01 Jan 2015, at 23:40, Richard Tenney via Utah-Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> wrote:
Despite the cold and tremendous light pollution in my back yard (from both the waxing moon and Orem city to the South of me in Lindon), I managed to find it rather easily sweeping through Lepus (below Orion) with my 9x63 binocs a couple of nights ago (around 8:30 pm), as Chuck mentioned. Because of the LP, it was mostly just a tailless smudge, but bright enough to easily make out. The finder chart at S&T was helpful in locating the general vicinity. /R From: Bruce Hugo via Utah-Astronomy <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> To: "utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2014 7:00 PM Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Comet Lovejoy
So has anyone observed Comet Lovejoy recently? Does it look like it will reach Mag 4 on closest approach as predicted? I've not had a chance to look for it yet. Clear skies!Bruce Hugo