This post is now outdated. Please click here for current viewing information.Despite receding from both the Earth and Sun, C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy exceeds its predicted brightness. It still sports an ion tail in this image captured on 10th March at 22:05 UT when the comet was about 6th magnitude. This is a cumulative five-minute ISO1600 exposure with a DSLR + C11 + Hyperstar at f/2. Image credit: Ade AshfordWith a waxing gibbous 11-day-old Moon in the sky throughout the hours of darkness, observers will have to be patient to view C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy in a dark sky. Hovering around magnitude 6.5, Comet Lovejoy is in the constellation of Cassiopeia and still just visible in binoculars. Since it is now a circumpolar object, it doesn’t set as seen from the British Isles. C/2014 Q2 merely dips below the north celestial pole around 2 am BST to 25° above the northern horizon in the UK, before rising higher in the north-northeast sky at dawn.
Observers using GoTo telescopes or instruments equipped with digital setting circles can use the following nightly equatorial coordinates to find Comet Lovejoy quickly:
31st March at 10 pm BST — α = 1h 23.5m δ = +65°38′ (J2000.0)
This finder chart shows C/2014 Q2’s path through the constellation of Cassiopeia during March 2015. Now that Comet Lovejoy is receding from the Sun and the Earth, its motion against the background stars slows to an average of ⅓° per day this month. Note the comet’s close passage to magnitude 2.7 delta (δ) Cassiopeiae, also known as ‘Ruchbah’ on the 15th. The 5° circle represents the field of view of a typical 10×50 binocular for scale. Click the graphic for a full size version suitable for printing. AN graphic by Ade Ashford
If current predictions hold true, C/2014 Q2 should fade from around magnitude 6.5 to 7 by the end of March 2015. This means that Comet Lovejoy is still an easy target for binoculars and small telescopes under dark, moonless skies.
Seek out a dark (save for the Moon), safe location with an unobstructed view of the northwestern sky. The comet will be highest above the north-northwest horizon at the time astronomical twilight ends around 9:45 pm GMT. Use the lowest power eyepiece you have when observing C/2014 Q2 with a telescope.
Comet Lovejoy lies in a rich Milky Way star field, 3.8° west-northwest of magnitude-3.4 star ε Cassiopeiae, otherwise known as Segin in the prominent W-shaped asterism of Cassiopeia.
Inside the magazine
You can find out more about Comet Lovejoy in the March edition of Astronomy Now in addition to a full observing guide to the night sky.
At 9:24am GMT on 31 October 2016, near-Earth asteroid 164121 (2003 YT1) will safely fly by at a distance of 3.2 million miles (5.2 million kilometres), or 13.5 times the distance of the Moon. Furthermore, this 1.1-mile-(1.7-kilometre)-wide Apollo asteroid also passes very close to Polaris early on 2 November, creating a rare astrophotographic and observing opportunity.
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.
Comet Lovejoy continues its northerly trek through Cassiopeia, en route to a close encounter with Polaris on May 27th. A circumpolar object of the high north, the comet never sets as seen from the British Isles this month — what’s more, it’s brighter than predicted.
