It might be a bit of a challenge, considering the indomitable cloud cover hovering above Denmark at the moment, but with a little dedication and luck you might be able to catch a sight of the Lovejoy comet over the next week.
Lovejoy is clearly visible at night to the naked eye – providing you find yourself under the stars on a moonless night, with no cloud cover and away from the lights of the city. Using a pair of binoculars makes the view even more spectacular, weather permitting.
”The coming nights will include a mix of lots of cloud and only sporadically clear weather,” Mogens Rønnebek, a DMI meteorologist, said in a press release.
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Last chance saloon
The comet was at its closest to Earth on January 7 when it was less than half the distance between Earth and the Sun – about 70 million kilometres away
But the light strength of Lovejoy – which was visible in the Southern Hemisphere last year – is expected to increase until the end of January as it nears the Sun. Then it will fade as it speeds back out into the Solar System again.
And this is probably the last chance that aspiring meteorologists and astronomers will have to see Lovejoy. It probably won't return for another 8,000 years.
