14 DAY TRIAL // During the next couple of weeks you can look for a newly discovered comet that proved to be a better performer than expected. The comet is now close to the Sun and will soon pass Earth on its way back to the outskirts of the solar system.
The comet is now visible even with the naked eye if you know where to look, but a pair of binoculars is of course better. The comet is named after its discoverer Grzegorz Pojmanski who first spotted it on January 2. When it was discovered it was 100 times fainter than the faintest stars that can be perceived with the naked eye and was accessible only to southern hemisphere observers. Now the comet can be seen in the northern hemisphere and it increased in brightness. Its brightness is similar to that of a faint star.
The best time to observe it it's in the first days of March in the dawn morning sky. The comet is located in the zodiacal constellation of Capricornus and you can try locating it very low above the horizon somewhat south of due east about 90 minutes before sunrise. The comet will be positioned a little higher above the horizon each morning. While it's only 5 degrees high on Feb. 27, this will quickly improve to 10 degrees by March 2 (the width of your fist held at arm's length and projected against the sky); 16 degrees by March 5 and 22 degrees (more than "two fists" up from the horizon) by March 9.
If you look at it with binoculars it should look like a small, circular patch of light with a pale greenish-blue hue and an almost star-like center. With the help of a small telescope the comet's gaseous head or "coma" as well as a short, faint narrow tail should also be visible.
The comet will be closest to Earth on March 5 - at more than 115 million kilometers away.
Picture Credits: the comet photographed by John Drummond in New Zeeland