Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
ASTRONOMY IRELAND HAS urged people to look to the sky tonight to look out for the Comet PANSTARRS, which will be visible in the evening sky today.
The comet is placed right next to the Andromeda Galaxy in the northwest, which is the furthest object visible to the naked eye. The comet will be visible all night and if you use the galaxy as a signpost you will see that PANSTARRS is even brighter than the famous galaxy.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie today, David Moore, editor of Astronomy Ireland magazine, said he was “hoping it would be a bit brighter but people will still be able to see it faintly with the naked eye if they are away from streetlights”.
“It’s physically very big but it’s far away so you can faintly see it if you know where the galaxy is and if you have binoculars you can go scanning the horizon for it and you’ll see it more clearly that way,” he said. “This is a beautiful comet that I have seen several times in recent weeks and I have even managed to get some photographs of it”.
(Image: David Moore/Astronomy Ireland)
The comet can be seen in the lower part of the picture above, one of the two yellow dots in the sky. The yellow spot in the top left of the image is the galaxy, and the two will be seen closer together tonight.
“I think everyone should go outside over the weekend and try to spot Comet PANSTARRS for themselves, as spotting comets can be a rare experience,” Moore added.
Comet PANSTARRS will remain close to the Andromeda Galaxy for several days, and Astronomy Ireland is requesting that people send in their observation reports to observe@astronomy.ie for inclusion in an upcoming issue of the monthly Astronomy Ireland magazine.
Photographs taken by Moore over the last few weeks can be seen here.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Can only mean one thing, the clear blue skies are about to cloud over
Always the way with these events!
Okay, one last time Dougal, that comet is small…
No actually is far away… ;)
Do I get a better view if i watch it from the direction of North Korea
People could be killed and ye think nothin better than to make joke. You make me sick
Didn’t they claim they made it a while back?
NK football chant ….We will nuke you we will score we will eat your Labrador
always a joke with you lot
Hi Michelle ;-)
David Moore and his so called Club have a cheek, is a front for his Buisness selling overpriced telescopes.
Well he’s not forcing you to buy one
No he is pretending its a club, he is unelected.
Binoculars will do the job either. I’m testing my bino’s by reading this from a distance and I think you have some spelling and grammatical errors in your post. Not that it’s any of my buisness :-)
Fair play to him
David Moore is doing a great thing for the “Community” of astronomers here in Ireland. Nice guy too!
Apparently you can see Uranus too. Have to look deep though…
Hardy har har.
Haha that is so funny ^_^
Small? That thing is so big it makes my eyes burn. Oh, never mind… The sun hasn’t set yet!
Head off to bed Leonard , ur drunk mate!!!!
It’s not there now!
Actually saw this last night as i was in west cork for a few days and i live in the middle of nowhere you could say so no street lights no noise.. Was looking up and saw such a beautiful galexy and milkyway and this big bright star in the middle of it and was wondering what it was… Was so nice to see without having bincolrs or telascope… Wish i could stay in the country for so much longer as you don’t see much starlight in a city
PANSTARRS, i love that show :)
have your say