How to Spot Comet PanSTARRS This Tuesday

One of the brightest comets in years, which will be only surpassed by ISON in November this year, is now visible from the Northern Hemisphere of our planet. The comet Pan-STARRS will be crossing the sky over the coming week. Skywatchers have been anticipating this object for nearly two years when it was discovered by the telescope project that it was named after. It has now just passed its closest by Earth and is being lit its most brilliantly by the Sun.

Known officially as C/2012 L4, the comet will be accessible to the naked eye, though binoculars will help spot it against the twilight sky. If weather doesn’t betray, Pan-STARRS could be as bright as a first-magnitude star on the brightness scale of night sky objects (the lower the number, the brighter the object).

The first appearance of the comet in the Northern Hemisphere was on March 7, after the comet has already been delighting the eyes of observers in the Southern Hemisphere for weeks now.

For those willing to see the comet, the easiest way to spot is by looking for it in the west, just to the left of the point on your horizon where the sun sets, about 30 to 45 minutes after sunset. This narrow window of viewing time is when twilight fades enough for the comet to show through at least a bit, but before it sinks too low and sets.

On Tuesday March 12th, look for the very thin crescent Moon very low due west. The comet will be just to its left, by two or three finger-widths at arm's length. On Wednesday March 13th, you'll see a thicker crescent Moon higher up. Look below it by about the width of your fist at arm's length.

Places with a very low western horizon will be privileged in catching sight of the comet early. The farther south you are, the more likely you are to see it early. Any haze in the air will make it harder to see the comet.

Pan-STARRS will be at its brightest between Sunday (March 10) and Tuesday when it makes its closest approach to the sun. The comet will still be low in the western sky on Sunday, and may be lost in the sun's glare. It will fade in brightness over the next few days, but at the same time will be higher in the sky at sunset.

Pan-STARRS was discovered in June 2011 using the Pan-STARRS telescope located near the summit of Haleakala, on the island of Maui in Hawaii.

(Graphic provided by Sky & Telescope.com)