Bright New Comet Excites Stargazers
Nothing can keep dedicated stargazers from trying to get a glimpse of the brightest comet seen in decades _ not even temperatures as low as 40 below zero.
There hadn’t been a lot of buzz about Comet McNaught, discovered just last year. But as the comet got closer to the sun, it brightened and the word spread _ the comet was special.
Martin Gutoski drove to a lookout about five miles north of Fairbanks on Tuesday evening, when skies were especially cold and clear _ good comet-viewing weather, even if it was frigid.
The amateur astronomer waited for sunset and watched as the sky turned salmon red and darkened. He turned his attention toward the spot on the horizon where the sun set.
“It is a very large spike, almost a vertical spike at sunset. ... I was more than impressed with it,” he said.
Comet McNaught, discovered last year by Australian astronomer R.H. McNaught, is expected to remain visible throughout the Northern Hemisphere through Friday, when it will come to within 16 million miles of the sun and be obscured by the sun’s glare. After that, it will eventually emerge for people in the Southern Hemisphere to enjoy.