I get yet another glimpse of our nightly visitor.
Sunday night the 29th was clear and and mild for late October. I toted my binoculars and telescope out the front door and stood on the porch, scanning the skies for Comet SWAN. I had last seen the comet in Corona Borealis, but now I couldn't even see Corona Borealis. The constellation is sinking into the milky horizon in the evening and light pollution hides most of its stars.
Light pollution is also making it impossible for me to spot Comet SWAN with the naked eye. But I can still pick it out easily with binoculars if I know where to look. Comet SWAN has been racing farther south (to my left) every evening, and on the 29th it was positioned just perfectly to act as Hercules' belly button. I caught it between the stars that mark Hercules' waist. In binoculars it showed itself as a faint, blurry smudge, but it was enough to distinguish itself from the pointlike stars around it.
Using my telescope on the comet made it appear larger and more beautiful, although still only a fuzzy blob, which is, in effect, what a comet is. I looked for the tail of the comet but had no success, again. I even tried moving the comet just out of the field of view so that its light did not interfere with my search for the fainter tail, but no luck. I have seen photos of the tail though, and it looks spectacular.
If you want to give the trick-or-treaters a a real treat tonight, set up your telescope to give them a peek of the interplanetary ice ball. It should now be to the left of Hercules' waist and directly below bright Vega. Happy Halloween!
