Comet Lovejoy and the Florissant Fossil Beds Night Sky program with CSAS

Comet Lovejoy has just made its closest approach to Earth and is now making its way back out of the solar system. People in the Northern Hemisphere like us here in Southern Colorado still have a chance to see it at its brightest as its journey takes it past Pleiades and high into the night sky. This will be one of our target objects at our upcoming star party 6-8 PM on Saturday, January 17 at the Florrisant Fossil Beds National Monument Visitors Center.

http://www.nps.gov/flfo/planyourvisit/event-details.htm?eventID=821446-452862

If you can’t make this event, here is a link to a web site that has some star charts that may help you find it from where you are. It’s pretty difficult to spot in city lights without binoculars but if you find it a couple of times through the course of the evening, you’ll see that its moving quickly against the starry background!

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/spot-comet-lovejoy-tonight-122920141/