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How to Find Comets

For astronomers and amateur star gazers, comets (also known as a planetesimals) provide a rare opportunity to see objects that normally reside in deep space, far from view. The comet is composed of dust and ice, much like a dirty snowball. As it travels past Earth on its orbit around the Sun, it moves fast enough to superheat and give off a stream of gas referred to as the comet's tail. Most comets will only appear as glowing dots to the naked eye. High detail pictures use long exposure photography to capture the gas trail.

Things You'll Need

Ephemerides
Star map
Telescope or binoculars

Instructions

- 1
  Review the ephemerides to learn the exact position of the object at given times. The ephemerides is a table published by astronomers to aid in locating comets.
- 2
  Draw dots indicating the predicted points of the object onto a star map, or finder chart.
- 3
  Follow the finder chart as it tells you which star constellations to look at, bringing you closer to the comets position. As you become more familiar with the many constellations, you may be able to navigate your gaze to the comet's general location without a finder chart -- using the predicted points as your only reference.
- 4
  Peer through your telescope or binoculars to center your view on the comet. It will appear as a glowing orb, sometimes with a black dot, or nucleus, at the center. While you will not be able to see the actual object, you'll view the intense cloud of gas and dust surrounding it.

Astronomy