Comet Lovejoy Brightens

Who doesn't love a comet that exceeds expectations? That's exactly what's happening with Terry Lovejoy's latest discovery, C/2017 E4 Lovejoy. Discovered on March 10th at magnitude +12, early observations suggested a peak magnitude of +9 in mid-April, assuming it didn't crumble apart en route to an April 23rd perihelion. Terry Lovejoy's comet discovery back in 2014, designated C/2014 Q2, was a real treat for northern hemisphere observers.

A faint ion trail extends for more than 1° in this photo taken on March 30. Note the comet's flattened coma shape.
North is up and east left. C/2017 E4 passes closest to Earth on March 31 (0.6 a.u.) and closest to the Sun on
April 23 (0.5 a.u.) Image by Gerald Rhemann.

Forget that. This fuzzball's already magnitude is +7–7.5 and a snap to see in 50-mm binoculars. I know because I got up Wednesday morning (March 29th) shortly before the start of dawn, pointed my 10×50 glass just below the figure of Equuleus, the Little Horse, and saw a small, dense ball of glowing fuzz without even trying. Comet 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak — now circumpolar in Ursa Major — shines at a similar brightness, but being larger and less condensed, it's not quite as easy to see as Lovejoy.

A little more than a week ago, Comet Lovejoy glowed at magnitude +10–11; a few days ago it was at +9. Given its meteoric rise in brightness, observers are anticipating the comet to crest to magnitude +6 around perihelion as it describes a roller coaster arc across Pegasus and Andromeda. Twice it passes bright deep-sky objects: the bright globular cluster M15 on April 1st and the Andromeda Galaxy on April 20–22. Another easy time to spot it will be on April 8–9 alongside β Pegasi in the northwest corner of the Great Square.

With the Moon out of the picture until around April 7th, comet watchers have lots of dark-sky time to pursue this new find. Just remember that you'll only have a relatively short time before the start of dawn when the comet is highest in the eastern sky. Because of increasingly early sunrises, Lovejoy maintains a fairly constant 15° elevation at the start of morning twilight from mid-northern latitudes through mid-April. My observation was made at 5 a.m. about 10 minutes before dawn's first light. Look for a small, fuzzy spot that appears at first glance like an out-of-focus star.

Read Full Source Article at http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/comet-lovejoy-brightens-quickly-heads-north/

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Backyard Projects for Amateur Astronomers

As some of my past posts on this blog, I continue to advocate for amateur astronomers to contribute to professional astronomy by getting involved with backyard amateur astronomy projects.

Research isn’t just for professionals. Amateur astronomers are able to participate in cutting-edge science as well, usually by partnering with professional astronomers in pro-am collaborations. Thanks to their ability to move and observe when and where they choose, amateurs are also often better at tracking asteroids or hunting for new supernovae than many pros. Amateurs are also branching into spectroscopy, splitting starlight into its constituent wavelengths to study the composition of stars and other celestial objects.

Amateur Astronomer with his Backyard Telescope.

In this post, I have listed a few other projects that are possible to partake in from your home with a personal computer or a small backyard telescope with imaging equipment or visually through the eyepiece...

Observing Variable Stars - Since professional astronomers often do not have the telescope time needed to follow a particular star or group of stars, the participation of amateur astronomers is often an invaluable means of collecting information. This is very true in the field of variable star astronomy. Since 1911, thousands of amateur astronomers from all over the world and from all backgrounds have contributed observations, one at a time, to make up the more than 18 million data points housed in the AAVSO International Database!

Anyone can be a variable star observer. All you really need to begin observing are:

• Your unaided eyes, a pair of binoculars, or a small telescope
• Some variable star charts to help you navigate your way through the sky (available through the AAVSO)
• Some basic instructions
• Some Patience

Comet Hunting - With a lot of patience and careful work, amateur astronomers can, and do, discover comets. Once again, it turns out that professional astronomers simply can't keep watch on everything going on above them. So amateurs have an important role to play.

One such comet hunter is Terry Lovejoy, based in Australia. On Aug. 17, 2014, Lovejoy discovered his fifth comet, Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy). At 14th magnitude, it was as dim as distant Pluto. But as the comet moved in its orbit over the next few months, it brightened enormously. Comets are compact bodies of rock, dust, and ice ranging in size from 0.1 to 300 kilometers. They originate from a scattered disc of icy bodies way beyond the orbit of Neptune, and every now and then one will enter the inner Solar System. They're of importance to astronomers wishing to keep an eye on near-earth objects or to study the composition, orbital characteristics, and behavior of comets themselves.

Searching for Nova and Supernovae - Most recently, there has been a renewed interest in the search for both novae within our own Milky Way galaxy (the "Galactic Novae") and those that occur seemingly more frequently in other galaxies, or the "Extragalactic Supernovae". This overview is NOT intended to be all-inclusive, but to invite telescope users to examine the possibilities and the remote chance of the actual discovery of a "new star" in the heavens. Novae and Supernovae searches can be conducted:

• Visually, using good star charts and the naked eye, binoculars, or a telescope


• Photographically, patrolling the same selected area(s) of the sky at every opportunity and comparing images over time


• Electronically, CCD imagers can provide not only rapid discovery information but also serve as a photometer to accurately measure the brightness and color (hence an early indication of spectral type) of the new star. Being Ready for the Nova Event - It is likely that no amateur will be fortunate enough to be viewing, at just the right time, a starfield out of which one star will rapidly increase in brilliance by a magnitude of thousands. The rise to the maximum light of the nova is very fast, requiring only hours to increase perhaps as much as 15 to 20 magnitudes. For discovery work, you should be concerned only about detecting a new nova as soon after the event takes place as possible. Others may jointly discover and report the new star, but it takes no worth away from your discovery.

These backyard amateur astronomy projects are just a few examples that have always interested me. Who knows... with some patience and perseverance, you may be the next comet or extragalactic supernova discoverer.

Also, you may want to read Tips for Exploring the Wonders of Outer Space from Home for beginning backyard astronomy and Backyard Projects for Amateur Astronomers.

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Students, Parents and Staff Enjoy Comet Lovejoy

Students, parents, and a few staff members from the Sacred Heart School enjoyed comet viewing on the evening of January 20, 2014, at the Kohout-Dingley Observatory located on the school's campus in Kingston, MA. The event was planned and presented by Insight Observatory. The comet that was on display was Comet Lovejoy C/2014 Q2. The event featured a display of a 3-D model entitled "Anatomy of a Comet" that was designed and constructed by Insight Observatory's Creative Director, Paul Bonfilio. Paul greeted the attendees of the event as they entered the observatory and presented them with a brief lecture on what a comet actually is utilizing his 3-D model. After the audience listened to Paul's lecture, followed up with some questions and answers, the guests then proceeded up the stairs of the observatory to get a glimpse of this rare celestial visitor through the observatory's 11" Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, operated by Insight Observatory's Project Developer, Michael Petrasko.

Insight Observatory's Creative Director,

Paul Bonfilio Explains the Anatomy of

a comet to students and parents.

The seeing conditions for viewing the comet through the telescope were only fair due to scattered clouds that rolled in over the course of the event. However, the thin clouds didn't hinder the observers from seeing Comet Lovejoy's nucleus and dust tail. Even though only a pair of binoculars would be more than ideal to observe the comet, the telescope's wide-field eyepiece provided observers to see about 50% of the comet in the field of view. It turns out that this evening allowed all of the attendees to get their first view of a comet ever.

C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) is a long-period comet discovered on 17 August 2014 by Terry Lovejoy using an 8" Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope. The comet was discovered at apparent magnitude 15 in the southern constellation of Puppis. It is the fifth comet discovered by Terry Lovejoy.

By December 2014, the comet had brightened to roughly magnitude 7.4, making the comet a small telescope and binoculars target. By mid-December, the comet was visible to the naked eye for experienced observers with dark skies and keen eyesight.

Astrophotographer Chris Schur captured Comet Lovejoy 
C/2014 Q2 with globular cluster  M79 on Dec. 28, 2014,
 from Payson, Arizona.

On 28−29 December 2014, the comet passed 1/3° from globular cluster Messier 79. It brightened to roughly magnitude 4−5 and became one of the brightest comets located high in a dark sky in years. On 7 January 2015, the comet passed 0.469 AU ( 43,600,000 miles) from Earth. It crossed the celestial equator on 9 January 2015 becoming better seen from the northern hemisphere. The comet will come to perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 30 January 2015 at a distance of 1.29 AU (120,000,000 miles) from the Sun.

Before entering the planetary region (epoch 1950), C/2014 Q2 had an orbital period of about 11000 years. After leaving the planetary region (epoch 2050), it will have an orbital period of about 8000 years.

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