Star gazing... or something like it

Listen,

It’s not everyday that I find myself standing outside on my driveway at 11pm on a chilly winter night with a pair of binoculars in my hands… No, I’m not some sicko spying on my neighbors… I’m looking at the stars... a comet actually. I was checkin out the Comet Lulin.

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I kind of got into astronomy and space during my scouting days and even took a class in high school. The immensity of space is astounding. I am intrigued by constellations and all that. So, for those of you who didn’t click on the link to the article above I’ll give you a little summary.

The Comet Lulin is a green comet about the size of Jupiter. It can be seen in the Eastern sky near Saturn, which can be found toward the horizon from the constellation Leo (under the head to be more specific). This is a 2-tailed comet unlike the single-tailed comets that are more recognizable ones like Halley’s Comet. }--------->

Solar winds create the tail that is seen on comets like Halley’s and others. Because Lulin is melting so fast it actually leaves a wake on the sun-side as well creating the second, much smaller tail that you can see in the first picture. Experts estimate that Lulin is shedding 800 gallons of water each second, which they state is enough to fill an Olympic-size swimming pool in less than 15 minutes. This week Lulin has come it’s closest to Earth and is brightest now because that. Lulin will come within 38 million miles Earth. To give you an idea, the Moon is about 239 thousand miles away. The sun is about 92 million miles from Earth. Los Angeles is 700 miles away from Salt Lake City. And finally, I work 13 miles from my house.

My sister Hay, my mom, my 3-year-old Brady, and I went out Tuesday night at 11pm. I was not planning on Brady joining us (his bedtime is 9pm), but he heard Grandma and Aunty Hay come in and came running. It was actually pretty cool. With my sick astronomy skills we found Leo and Saturn and then went for the binoculars. There it was, kind of a duller greenish-gray spot just to the right and up a little from Saturn, just like they said. Once we knew where to look, we could even see it without the binoculars. I wish I had a good telescope, heck, I’d even be happy with a crumby telescope to see this better.

They (the experts) say that this comet has a parabolic path, meaning it never has past through our little solar system before and it will never pass through again. Halley’s Comet comes every 75 years, so you may get another chance to catch it again… Lulin will not be back, so take advantage of it now and go look at the stars (or comet).

Bet you didn’t plan on a science lesson today did you… you are welcome. Oh, and here's a little map to help you find it.