Comet Lulin

I went out last night about 9pm to see if I could find the "smudgball" that is Comet Lulin. With my little birding bins, I did find it, and was able to point it out to a friend as well. It was a cold night, but it was perfectly clear and made for great viewing.

In areas with a lot of light pollution you may not see it (Come on people, turn those lights off, or point them to the ground where we really want them). But in relatively dark, or very dark areas, you will see this lovely little comet near Leo the Lion in the east/south east. The link above is a good one for showing and explaining where to look over the next few nights. The further it gets from Leo, the harder it will be to see, because of the lack of a reference point.

It is pretty dim (at least from my viewing area), and all I saw was the smudge and no tail. I would have needed something a bit more powerful than my bins, but it was still fun to see.

The night sky is amazing. Grab your bins, bundle up, throw a blanket on the ground, maybe find a friend, and spend some time getting lost in the vastness of space.