Oh, look what popped up in the sunset skies, two days past new moon!
Just a thumbnail, hanging up there with the lit sliver pointing the way toward the Sun.
After it got a little bit darker, Jupiter’s bright off to the left. There’s a new comet that might be visible after dark over to the right, about where the top of that tall tree is. But you’ll need a dark sky to see it, and binoculars will help.
I went out before it all set, had my good binoculars, but struck out on the comet. I found the guide stars that the finder chart used to point out its location and it should have been right there – but I couldn’t see a thing. The surface brightness of the comet is probably much lower than the background illumination of all of LA’s light pollution combined with Ventura County’s coastal haze.
But in twenty-six days? By that time, assuming the comet hasn’t faded out of sight, it will have moved over to the other side of Jupiter and during that 4:24 of eclipse, it should be clearly visible, along with Jupiter, Venus, Mercury, and the eclipsed Sun. Will I actually be able to see it?
In 26 days, 9 hours, and 13 minutes we’ll find out!
We Love The Stars Too Fondly 