Spot the comet: 17P/Holmes
from the Hackers list from RGK3
So I came up with a set of simple instructions which is good enough to
work at second- and third-hand. Some of you astro-inclined types
might pass this along to your local neighborhood groups or whatever.
Once you spot it, you will never forget how.
Go outside about 8 or 9 o'clock.
If you don't know where West is at your location, figure out where
the sun set - that part of the sky will still have a lighter blue
dome than the rest. This is West.
Stand so West is on your left shoulder.
So East will be on your right shoulder, North will be straight ahead.
Now look about halfway between North and East.
Make a fist with your right hand, and hold it out at arm's length.
About 3-4 fists up from the horizon will be a constellation that
looks like the number 3. Or a "W" on its side. (It's called
Cassiopeia, but that's not important here.)
From the middle of this constellation, move your eyes down about 1
fist, and over to the right about 1 fist. There appears to be a small
triangle of three stars. (Last week the triangle was isoceles, but
this week it has morphed almost to a right triangle.)
The bottom star on the left is not a star, it's the comet. You can
see plainly that it is a fuzzy ball. (The comet is occupying the
right angle.)
It should look just fine [...], even though it's on the outbound
leg. The reason it has hardly any tail is because it was quiescent
all the way 'round the Sun until it just blew up or something past
Mars. It is only recently developing a tail, which is pointed away
from us, along its direction of travel, so we won't see much. Also,
it has apparently broke up. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience
which you should imprint on your own rods and cones.
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