Comet Lovejoy should be visible for the next few weeks. While it is getting farther away from the earth, the moon is waning and so it may be more observable over the next few days than at it’s peak on January 7. If you miss seeing the comet this round, it will be 11,000 years before you get a second chance.
Brave the cold, it is worth it. Though visible to the naked eye, binoculars make it quite vivid. From Sparta TN, after 8:00 PM, Orion will be in the East South-East Sky. Currently the comet is near Orion’s belt (the three bright stars in the middle. Orion is probably the second easiest constellation to spot in the night sky. His visibility over the eastern horizon is how ancient people new that winter was upon them.
The farther that you get from city lights the better. The moon will be rising later during the next few days which puts viewing the comet in your favor.
Enjoy!
[mashshare]
January Moon Table
10 22:07 09:54 90.0 272.7 49.9 03:36 0.74 19.94
11 23:04 10:22 94.8 267.8 46.0 04:18 0.65 20.94
12 ..:.. 10:51 ..... 262.6 42.2 05:01 0.56 21.94
13 00:01 11:22 99.9 257.7 40.3 05:45 0.46 22.94
14 01:00 11:55 104.8 253.2 36.9 06:30 0.37 23.94
15 02:00 12:34 109.0 249.3 33.9 07:19 0.27 24.94
16 03:01 13:17 112.4 246.4 31.6 08:11 0.18 25.94
17 04:02 14:08 114.6 244.9 30.3 09:06 0.10 26.94
18 05:02 15:07 115.2 245.0 30.1 10:04 0.04 27.94
19 05:57 16:12 114.0 246.9 31.2 11:03 0.01 28.94
20 06:48 17:23 111.1 250.6 33.6 12:03 0.00 0.41
21 07:34 18:36 106.6 255.7 37.2 13:02 0.01 1.41
22 08:15 19:49 101.0 261.7 41.5 13:58 0.06 2.41
23 08:54 21:01 94.8 268.4 46.2 14:53 0.13 3.41
24 09:30 22:12 88.8 274.5 51.0 15:47 0.23 4.41
25 10:06 23:21 82.4 280.5 55.5 16:39 0.33 5.41
26 10:42 ..:.. 76.9 ..... 59.4 17:31 0.44 6.41
27 11:20 00:27 72.2 285.8 61.2 18:22 0.55 7.41
28 12:01 01:31 68.5 290.0 64.1 19:14 0.65 8.41
29 12:45 02:31 66.1 292.9 66.0 20:05 0.74 9.41
30 13:33 03:27 65.1 294.6 67.0 20:56 0.83 10.41
31 14:24 04:18 65.4 294.8 67.0 21:46 0.89 11.41