This post is now outdated. Please click here for current viewing information.C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy is fading very slowly, though hard to see with binoculars in the moonlight, marching north at almost 1° per day. The comet is currently in Andromeda close to 2nd-magnitude double star Almach and highest in the sky to the south at 6 pm from the British Isles. Look below for detailed B/W charts suitable for printing. AN Graphic by Greg Smye-Rumsby.Until recently, Northern Hemisphere comet watchers have enjoyed viewing Comet Lovejoy riding high in a dark sky, but with a Moon a day after full, lunar glow is a problem. Nevertheless, the comet’s easily found in small telescopes.
The fifth comet discovery of Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy on 17th August 2014, it quickly became apparent that this was a long-period comet with a high orbital inclination of 80°, but this isn’t its first visit to the Sun. C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) had an orbital period of ~11500 years prior to entering the inner Solar System where planetary perturbations have now reduced it to ~8000 years. The comet was closest to the Earth on 7th January, perihelion (closest to the Sun) occurring on 30th January. Click the graphic to open an interactive orbit Java applet. Image credit: NASA JPL Small-Body Database Browser/Osamu Ajiki/Ron Baalke/Ade Ashford Observers using GoTo telescopes or instruments equipped with digital setting circles can use the following nightly equatorial coordinates to find Comet Lovejoy quickly:
4th February at 7 pm GMT — α = 2h 07.8m δ = +42°21′ (J2000.0)
For observers wishing to use our charts at the telescope or with binoculars, we’ve produced this B/W version of Comet Lovejoy’s position from 16th January — 4th February at 7 pm GMT (19h UT), about the time that it’s highest in the sky at the end of twilight for UK observers. Click on the graphic for a full-size version that you can save to your computer for printing. AN graphic by Ade AshfordObservers with binoculars and portable telescopes should seek out a dark, safe location with an unobstructed view of the southern sky — preferably with the Moon hidden behind a wall or building. The best time to observe in the UK is 7 pm GMT when the comet will be highest above the horizon at the time twilight ends.
With the glow of a Moon one day after full, Comet Lovejoy is only visible in binoculars or telescopes. Use the lowest power eyepiece you have when observing with a telescope. C/2014 Q2 lies in a star-studded field just ¾° west of beautiful 2nd-magnitude double star γ Andromedae (otherwise known as Almach) tonight. The star and comet will be in the same field of view using instruments at 50x magnification or less.
A constant feature of spring nights owing to its enviable circumpolar position, Comet Lovejoy still rides high throughout June, yet it’s fading slowly with distance and has to compete with twilight all night for observers in the British Isles — but it has one more conjunction in store for the end of the month.
Now that the Moon has returned to evening skies, observers have to wait a little longer to view Comet Lovejoy in a dark sky. Fortunately, it’s a circumpolar object for observers in the British Isles, near the familiar W-shaped constellation asterism of Cassiopeia during March.
Comet Lovejoy soars through the night sky in a green haze with an ion tail in its wake. This image shows Lovejoy appearing to lose its tail on 21 January 2015.
