Tag Archives: Comet Lulin

I don’t usually bother to tout comets any more, having once had to do it for a living when they generally proved a disappointment. But this green one looks to be unusual, with a Juipter-sized atmosphere, or coma. Of course, coming no closer than thirty-eight million miles away on Feb. 24 will keep it from seeming all that large.

Indeed, at only an anticipated fourth or fifth magnitude, it may be so dim that it requires dark country skies to see it at all. Even if it is brighter, observers deep inside the urban light cone are unlikely to see anything. On the cone’s fringes, however, you can start looking on Friday if you like, when Comet Lulin is expected to be a binocular object in the runup to its flyby.