This month's star chart shows the successive
positions of Comet LINEAR2 over several days For the last days of
June and into July, we have a naked-eye comet visible about 5:00 AM CDT
in the east-southeast in Cetus. I saw it on the morning of June 27
-- not too impressive, mag 4.0. I couldn't see any tail, so it's just a
fuzzball. With the haze, light clouds, and dust we have had lately
in our sky, the comet was near the limit of my naked-eye capability.
It was much more impressive in binoculars and our 12" scope.
The comet reached perihelion on May
24. At that time, it was visible only in the southern hemisphere.
Earlier this year, we had a brief look at it before it moved too far south.
As it approached perihelion, the nucleus broke into about 3 pieces. The
comet brightened to mag 3.3 after the breakup, but has now dimmed somewhat.
Try to find the comet as soon as you can because the moon will be nearer
and brighter as July wears on.
LINEAR2 is the second comet discovered
by the Lincoln Laboratories Near Earth
Asteroid
Research Program at White Sands Missile Range, NM. The LINEAR project
is designed to look for near-earth asteroids, so the comets are just a
by-product - or maybe a lagniappe, as they say in Louisiana
and East Texas. Good hunting! |
