Comet Lovejoy soon visible in Thailand
The National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (NARIT) invites the public to observe Comet Lovejoy with its glowing green tail on Jan. 30, before the comet continues to fade from view on its 8000-year journey through our solar system.
NARIT Deputy Director Dr Saran Poshyachinda shared that everyone in Thailand is able to witness an astronomical phenomenon once again. Namely, on January 30, Comet Lovejoy, C/2014 Q2, will be closest to the sun at a distance of 193 million kilometers. The comet has already been closest to Earth on January 7, at a distance of "only" 70 million kilometers.
Dr Saran said the comet with its beautiful green tail will appear to the right of the Taurus constellation near the Pleiades on the evening of January 30. The comet will be visible to the naked eye in clear skies on that day from around 7pm. Of course it would help if a telescope was used.
Comet Lovejoy was discovered by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy in August of 2014 and was the fifth comet he has observed since 2011.
If you google “comet Lovejoy”, you will see a series of websites that describe this phenomenon extensively. I've looked at some of them – there's even a Dutch page on Wikipedia – and I found it mighty interesting. I'm definitely going to look, but I must confess that I don't understand one iota of all that astronomical prose. The only thing I realize after watching the video below (there are more videos on YouTube) is how insignificant we are on this planet as part of the universe.
Source: MCOT
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tvtA5apyXQ[/youtube]
Interested parties do not have to wait until January 30. The comet may then be closest to the sun, and will be intrinsically the brightest, but for an observer on earth the angle between the comet and the sun is therefore also smaller (the distance 'in the sky' is smaller), which means that observing on the other hand, it becomes more difficult, because the sun still slightly illuminates that part of the sky. Definitely don't expect a spectacle, with the naked eye at least a spot without light pollution is needed and even then no more than a tiny fuzzy spot is visible. A photo with an exposure of a few tens of seconds has a better chance. A lookup card is essential. With simple binoculars, for example 7×50, it should be possible in a dark place on a clear evening. By the way, you don't have to travel to Thailand; The Comet is also visible from the Netherlands.