'Comet of Cooperation' streaking by

I don't normally do early morning astronomy, however, I occasionally make an exception. This time it was it was for a comet, comet C/2008 N3(Lulin) to be exact.

I was able to put some glass on it late last week when it was in the constellation Libra on its way into Virgo.

It was nothing to write home about, just a faint, greenish, fuzzy blob, but it was there. Sort of reminded me of the comet Holmes last year that suddenly blazed in brightness for a while. While brightness estimations for comets are rarely reliable, there is hope this one will reach naked eye visibility sometime during the next two weeks.

The comet was discovered in July 2007 by two Chinese astronomers, one on the mainland, and the other on the island of Taiwan. In China they are calling it the "Comet of Cooperation," which is great because they both claim to be the "real" China and the other is a pretender.

Astronomers believe this is the first time Lulin has been through the inner solar system. It won't be back for several thousand years. Its orbit is a parabola which has the comet orbiting in the same plane as the planets along the ecliptic, but it is traveling backward to the orbital direction of the planets.

That means when it reaches its closest distance to Earth the two will be approaching each other at about 140,000 miles per hour. If you are observing it with a telescope, you might be able to see it moving against the background stars.

Presently it is approaching Spica, the brightest star in Virgo, the Maiden. Unfortunately, so is the just-past-full moon, which will probably wipe out any chance for a sighting for the next several days.

The best chance for observing the comet is on Feb. 24, when it will be at its closest approach to Earth. At that time it will also be very close to Saturn which should help in locating it.

By that time the comet will be an early evening object which will make observing a little easier for us late night folks.

Observers report the coma, the ball of gas and dust being expelled from the body of the comet, is about the size of Jupiter. The best observing time now is at about 5 a.m. MST when Astronomical twilight begins.

SKY WATCH: Venus is still the object to look for in the early evening hours just after sunset. It blazes above the southwestern horizon for several hours after sunset. Orion, the king of winter, is holding forth high in the south in the early evening but the stars of spring are making their appearance on the late evening stage. For those of you, like me, who are wanting to see the zodiacal light, that soft glow of sunlight off of interplanetary grains of dust, now is the time. Look in the west just after evening twilight for a glow which will resemble the Milky Way in summer. Visibility should be good for the next two weeks when the ecliptic is sharply inclined to the horizon.

Next time: More astronomical blathering.