Comet McNaught -- Look to the Skies!

Photo by Hakon Dahle, Institute of Theoretical
Astrophysics, University of Oslo.

UPDATE: Seeing Comet McNaught from the Northern Hemisphere for the next few days may be Iffy, but I think it's worth a shot to try if you have clear dawn or sunset skies. Various sites have conflicting promises.

If you're in the Southern Hemisphere, DEFINITELY go outside and look up!

SpaceWeather.com is an excellent site for viewing advice.

Clear skies permitting, you might be able for the next few days, as it returns from diving around the Sun, to see the brightest comet of the last 40 years, McNaught / C/2006 P1, in the half-hour after sunset or the half-hour before dawn.

(Robert McNaught's the Anglo-Australian professional astronomer who first spotted it in August 2006, so he gets it named for him.)

Every comet has one last unpredictable secret -- how bright it will really be, how visible to the naked eye -- and Comet McNaught was a surprise winner. Don't bother with fancy telescopes -- binoculars will be more useful.

From Wikipedia:

The comet will remain visible to Southern Hemisphere observers in both the morning and evening sky, entering the constellation Microscopium on 18 January, but fading rapidly and dropping below 6th magnitude by 09 Feb. However, observers are encouraged to watch closely, as sungrazing comets often break up shortly after perihelion and flare dramatically.

Best details and fotos Here.