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Copyright 2013 John Sarkissian
John Sarkissian, operations scientist at the Parkes Radio Observatory in Australia, captured this view of Comet PanSTARRS hanging in the sky over the Parkes Radio Telescope on March 5. The telescope was made famous in a movie from 2000 titled "The Dish." Sarkissian told SpaceWeather.com that the comet picture is a "5-second exposure taken through my Canon 400D digital camera set on ISO 1600."
You'll be hearing a lot about Comet PanSTARRS, also known as C/2011 L4, now that it's become visible in the Northern Hemisphere — but if you're not properly prepared, the experience can be underwhelming. You have to know where and when to look, and with what. Fortunately, there are lots of resources to draw upon.
First, some quick facts: Comet PanSTARRS is thought to come from the Oort Cloud on the solar system's edge, and is making its first round through the inner solar system. It was discovered in 2011 by the Pan-STARRS Telescope team, but it didn't attract wide attention until last year, when astronomers noticed a brightening trend that promised to produce a sight visible to the naked eye. The comet is expected to shine brighter than the stars of the Big Dipper (magnitude +2 to +1) over the weekend.
The challenge is that during this time of peak brightness, the comet will be visible quite low near the western horizon, just after sunset.
"Look too early and the sky will be too bright," NASA postdoctoral fellow Rachel Stevenson said in a PanSTARRS preview provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "Look too late, the comet will be too low and obstructed by the horizon. This comet has a relatively small window."
The farther north you are, the closer to the horizon you'll have to look. Those aren't exactly ideal conditions, especially if you have an obstructed view to the west, or if there are clouds on the horizon, or if there's significant haze in the air. The best viewing spots should be at higher elevations, far from haze and the glare of city lights, where the skies can get as dark as possible as soon as possible after sunset.
Depending on your location in the Northern Hemisphere, you may not be able to get a good look at the comet until next week. But even if you miss seeing it on Thursday or Friday, it's worth checking out a variety of spots over the next few days to get ready for the peak experience on March 12 and 13. That's when Comet PanSTARRS is due to make a pretty appearance close to the crescent moon.
Although the comet has become visible to the naked eye, you'll want to pull out the binoculars to make out the comet's tail. You might notice two elements to the tail, pointing in slightly different directions: One element is made up of glowing ionized gas, while the other is made up of dust that reflects the light of the sun.
PanSTARRS is due to make its closest approach to the sun on Sunday, coming within 28 million miles (45 million kilometers). On each evening after that, the comet's position will be slightly more elevated from the horizon, and shift slightly to the north. It'll also become dimmer. By mid-April, the comet will no longer be visible to the naked eye, even under the best circumstances.
Rufus Canty
Rufus Canty posted this picture of Comet PanSTARRS to the Cosmic Log Facebook page on Tuesday. "From Puerto Rico, looks awesome," Canty wrote.
This PanSTARRS time-lapse video from Stuart Thomson on Vimeo lasts only seven seconds, but it's a realistic look at viewing conditions in Werribee, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Watch it in full-screen HD.
NASA
This chart shows the position of Comet PanSTARRS on several nights in March, as well as the position of the crescent moon on March 12, which is arguably the best day for comet-watching.
When PanSTARRS fades from the spotlight, don't put your binoculars back in the attic: Another starry messenger from the outer solar system, known as Comet ISON, is due to make its appearance in November. Some skywatchers have dubbed ISON the "Comet of the Century" because the most optimistic projections suggest it could shine as brightly as the full moon. It's way too early to make firm predictions, but it's a good bet that the comet-watching skills you develop while looking for PanSTARRS will come in handy when it's ISON's turn.
Got comet pictures? Share them via NBC News' FirstPerson photo upload site and we'll pass them along in a future posting.
Now for those resources:
- PanSTARRS updates from Sky & Telescope
- Astronomy Magazine's PanSTARRS guide
- All you need to know from EarthSky
- Video: When can you see the comet?
- Space.com's PanSTARRS viewing guide
- Discovery News' comet viewing guide
- Check with your local astronomy club
- Comet gallery at SpaceWeather.com
- Guide to photographing comets
- More tips from EyesOnCometISON.com
- Comet reports from "Waiting for ISON"
- Geek out at Comets-ML and CometObs
- Flash interactive: Inside a comet
- More about comets from Cosmic Log
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
Leave a Comment:
what kinda name is that for a comet, it worked hard for billions of years, and for what, just to get saddled with PanSTARRS for a name.... sounds like a porno flick...lol
Remember "Hale Bopp" comet?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan-STARRS
lol i was gunna say something about the name too, looks like a couple others beat me to it. but seriously what a dumb freaking name
It is a naming convention we have sued for quite some time now.
I hope shizzle in don't fizzle out before I see it.
I hope in my lifetime to see the BIG Show...Betelgeuse going supernova. But ISON this November should be good too.
Betelgeuse going supernova could possibly be the last thing you'd ever see, depending on whether or not its magnetic axis points toward earth. Any star readiy seen with the unaided eye going supernove is something to worry about. FYI, the supernova of 1054 which created the Crab Nebula was 6500 miles away. That's close enough. Betelgeuse, by comparison, is 640 light years away. That's too close.
In ancient times, it was seen as a bad omen to have a comet appear in the sky. Especially before a battle, or some other important official state event, like a birth,marriage or meeting. People had all sorts of strange ideas of what the heavens were up to long before man figured out how to actually see what was happening.Science got rid of most superstition, but not all.People still believe the stars, and comets have power over our lives, go figure! I guess if one lands on you, why they sure can:P
Bigger_in_Texas
Correction needed, the supernova which created the Crab Nebula wasn't 6,500 miles away. Why at that distance we wouldn't be standing here, but long ago wiped out. Our moon is about 238,000 miles from the earth.So, FYI the star that went supernova was 6,500 LIGHT years away. Makes all the difference in the world using light instead of miles. Oh, and Betelgeuse isn't any where near close enough to do us any bit of harm at roughly 160 parsecs. Though currently it is putting out a plume of gas from its shrinking surface, that if it were in our solar system, where our sun was, it would stretch out to Jupiter! It is also ready to go supernova any time between now and the next thousand years or so. So get the popcorn ready and grab a seat. Check out the link for more info.
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090805.html
bigger
®¿® Only 6500 miles away!!!!!!!!!!! LOLOLOLOL
A supernova between Earth and Luna. That must have been bright!
Depends on the culture and circumstances. Sometimes a bad omen, sometimes good, and sometimes it was just a sign, marking an event, neither good nor bad.
Let me put it this way, for the Occidental, Middle East and Western civilizations, what happened in the heavens almost always was seen as a negative sign and broughtfear, not good feelings.Though William the Conquer it is claimed, stated that the Kingdom of Britain was in need of a King, when Halley's comet showed up in 1066. It having been tracked for over 1,000 years already around the world.
Too bad however, so many folks seem fixated on the end of the world lately whenever comets and asteroids are seen.
If I may add to the excellent posts above?
If/when Betelgeuse explodes we're in no danger at all. It's too far away to hurt us.
To be a threat to us here on Earth a supernova can be no more than 25 light years distant, and even then must be oriented "just so" to have an impact. Betelgeuse is 25x times further than that maximum distance, and its effects on us would be 0.0015% of the level of danger. It will be spectacular, someday, but not at all dangerous.
Also, there are no stars currently within 25 light years of Earth that are large enough to go supernova and pose a danger to the Earth.
We are, for now, safe from this particular hazard. (Phew!)
Just not safe from the super asteroid or super comet.
Well, I feel better.
We are pretty much looking down the barrel of WR104, aren't we? A GRB would ruin your day in a hurry. I've read several different opinions on the exact angle to us.
It looks like clouds and rain here over the weekend, no comet hunting for me.
From the wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betelgeuse#Approaching_supernova :-
Which implies if a similar star at a similar distance were oriented just right, then we could get a lethal blast.
There are times I hate living in a city. This is one. I grew up in a small town with country skies within 5 or 10 minutes.
However, there are other times I enjoy being able to go to the store at 2am.
Makes me almost miss the mountain town I was in. I could climb a hill and get a great view without bright lights washing the show out.
Would be nice if the other videos offered at the conclusion of Stuart Thomson's 7-second time-lapse embedded in this article weren't both variations on the title of "Sh*tbox"...
The end is near. Repent! Two comets in one year is a sure sign. (If your not under water on your mortgage I'll buy your house for $100--you won't need it anyway)
this will be my last post-I have decided to take my theories else where and open up to companies
my science is good and I know it-I just wished it had been appreciated more
thankyou and good luck
enjoy the comet
On the east coast of Florida, I don't think I stand much of a chance of seeing Comet PanSTARRS against the western horizon. But Alan, for those of us that "saw" Halley's comet (and it was VERY underwhelming in light-saturated FL), how does this one compare?
By coincidence, I was on a dive boat off Belize in early 1987 and Halley's comet was a wonderful addition to an already awesome trip. I also had seen it earlier in late 1986 much further north in North Carolina and the sight was considerably less spectacular. Sometimes you get lucky. I'm in Central America now and, in theory, have a great shot at PanSTARRS, but despite some effort, I have not yet scored. I'll get a few more shots at it and I'll take them.
I hope the iss snaps some good pics for us all!!
Love this! I also found some great info on http://spacedex.com/comet-pan-starrs/ if anyone is interested!