Comet Lovejoy - Hello From East Coast Park

8:27 AM  , ,  

East Coast Park
East, Singapore
January 2015

Intrigued by a post on a local forum, Merlion Wayfarer recently braved the dark and the mosquitoes to catch Comet Lovejoy.

On reaching the open field at East Coast Park, she was overwhelmed by the number of huge super whopper telescopes lining the muddied field.

While waiting for the sky to be dark enough, some of the enthusiasts focused on other astronomical phenomenon.

M42, the Orion Nebula, is part of a giant complex of clouds of interstellar gas and dust. Pockets of this material are collapsing to give birth to new stars...

When twilight dawns and night falls, Comet Lovejoy was spotted.

(Source : Universe Today)

First discovered in August 2014 by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy using his backyard telescope, Comet C/2014 Q2, otherwise known as Lovejoy, has been hanging around in our night skies for a few weeks now, but it is currently at its brightest and easiest-to-spot part of its journey around our sun.


To the unseasoned astronomer, locating Lovejoy can be a challenge - Depending on the earth's orbit, the date, and the time of the night, its position shifts. Here are some guides based on the star constellations...

(Source : Daily Mail)

(Source : Sky & Telescope)

Still lost? Star Date has a good pictorial guide with textual explanations on the stars forming each major cluster.
(Source : Star Date)

 Comet Lovejoy gets its eye-catching colour from two gases, cyanogen and diatomic carbon, which both glow green when sunlight passes through them. Its green hue is produced by molecules of diatomic carbon in the coma that fluoresce under the Sun's ultraviolet rays. In contrast, its delicate gas tail is tinted blue due to fluorescing charged molecules of carbon monoxide.

(Source : Daily Mail UKS)

See you again in 8,000 years!
(Source : The Telegraph UKl)

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