Hellbuster
05-15-2006, 07:01 AM
The Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies has announced that two fragments of the disintegrating comet are visible by binoculars and small scopes at about the 6th or 7th magnitude.
A third is in reach of larger amateur scopes - and about 65 much fainter pieces have been detected.
All are strung in a line, making their closest pass by Earth between May 14-17 at a distance of just 10 million kilometres.
They are currently high in the eastern sky after midnight and the best viewing is before dawn. Sri Lankans can see this double comet as a very faint object in areas with pollution free dark night sky.
The best time to watch is around 5 a.m. from May 14th - 17th May, look at the sky and then turn your head about 30 degrees towards the north. The comet is visible in the star constellation Cygnus.
If the sky is not clear, you need a pair of binoculars or a telescope to observe this faint comet said Dr. Chandana Jayaratna, consultant on astronomy to the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies and Senior lecturer in Physics, University of Colombo.
There is no harm to the naked eye by observing these comets.
A third is in reach of larger amateur scopes - and about 65 much fainter pieces have been detected.
All are strung in a line, making their closest pass by Earth between May 14-17 at a distance of just 10 million kilometres.
They are currently high in the eastern sky after midnight and the best viewing is before dawn. Sri Lankans can see this double comet as a very faint object in areas with pollution free dark night sky.
The best time to watch is around 5 a.m. from May 14th - 17th May, look at the sky and then turn your head about 30 degrees towards the north. The comet is visible in the star constellation Cygnus.
If the sky is not clear, you need a pair of binoculars or a telescope to observe this faint comet said Dr. Chandana Jayaratna, consultant on astronomy to the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Modern Technologies and Senior lecturer in Physics, University of Colombo.
There is no harm to the naked eye by observing these comets.