The comet hunt continues

How is your comet hunt going? Comet McNaught, C/2009, R1 is still visible in the early morning sky. I have read some reports that it is visible with just the eyes alone.

From your favorite dark-sky place look northeast starting at around 4 a.m. MDT. About five degrees (the approximate width of your clenched fist held at arm's length) above the horizon use your binoculars to hunt for a small, greenish, fuzzy spot. That will be the comet. It may, or may not have a visible tail.

It can be found to the lower left of Capella, the brightest star in the constellation Auriga. Both of them will be very low on the horizon.

Up until now, my attempts at observation have been thwarted by the astronomer's nemesis -- cloudy skies. However, forge we onward.

For our good friends on the west coast and in Hawaii -- and I know there are a few of you out there -- there will be a partial eclipse of the moon early Friday morning, June 26.

As seen from California starting at about 3:23 a.m. PDT the Earth's shadow will start to cover the face of the moon. The eclipse will continue until about 4:20 a.m. PDT when half the lunar face will be covered by Earth's shadow.

In Hawaii, the eclipse starts at about 1:20 a.m. and continues until 2:36 local time. For us here in the middle of the good old U.S. of A., we are out of luck. The eclipse starts after the moon, as visible from our location, has already set.

Last night, June 23, was the first session of the Observational Astronomy course being held at the Mid-Plains Community College extension campus in Imperial. However, it is still possible to join. Contact the college at (308) 882-5972 and ask to join the class.

Classes meet once a month for four months enabling us to cover a different sky each session. We will be covering observation techniques, constellations, planets, and various astronomical events.

SKY WATCH: Full moon, Saturday, June 26. Venus, Mars, and Saturn are still objects observable in the early evening. All three show the path of the ecliptic, the path the sun follows in the sky. The "Path of the Planets" is traceable starting from bright Venus, just above the western horizon, up and left through Mars and Saturn. If you look early in the morning in the southeast Jupiter will continue the path.

Since you are out early looking for Comet McNaught in the northeast, swing your view over to the southeast and take a look at Jupiter. It is the brightest thing out there so you can't miss it.

In a small telescope or a good pair of binoculars the outer gas giant planet, Uranus, is visible as a small blue-green dot to the upper right of Jupiter in the same field of view. You can bag two planets with one look.

NEXT TIME: Some summer sky and more astronomical blathering.