See comet Lulin shoot across the evening sky

A comet, discovered two years ago at a Chinese observatory, will be visible in the evening sky during the week of Feb. 23 to 27, according to astronomers with the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.

The greenish-colored comet Lulin will come close enough to Earth (about 38 million miles) to be visible as a small moving point of light with an extended tail. The comet will be closest to Earth on Tuesday, and bright enough to see with the naked eye in ideal dark-sky conditions. Scientists don’t know exactly how bright it will be because this appears to be Lulin’s first trip through the inner solar system.

Look for Lulin after dark in the east-southeast sky Tuesday, just below Saturn in the constellation of Leo.

Ed Krupp, director of the Griffith Observatory, said the telescopes at the observatory will be trained on the comet Tuesday through Saturday starting at 7 p.m.

“The comet will look like a small smudge of light with a tail,” he said.

If you miss Lulin this time, prepare to wait for the next showing — in about 15 million years.

To learn more about the comet, go to the NASA website.

– Hugo Martín, Los Angeles Times staff writer

[Photo: Comet Lulin approaching Earth; NASA]

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This entry was posted on Friday, February 20, 2009 at 4:29 pm by Hugo Martin and is filed under Los Angeles, News, Tips & Advice, Outdoors & Adventure, Sky watching. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.