Amateur astronomers in Japan discover new comet, call goes out for help to watch it, 11.19.10

Amateur astronomers Ikeya and Murakami of Japan just discovered a new comet two weeks ago, not too far away from the Sun. Called Comet Ikeya-Murakami or C/2010 V1, the comet is now easy to find near the planet Saturn.


While the comet cannot be seen without the aid of a telescope yet, it should be fairly simple for you to find with a backyard telescope, says Spaceweather.com. If you are familiar with sky maps, it should not be too difficult to plot the comet’s path.

Image credit: Spaceweather.com.

Amateur astronomers are being encouraged to watch the comet closely and report any apparent changes the comet displays, as it appears to be in a rather dynamic state, progressively getting brighter and brighter. According to Leonid Elenin of Moscow, the comet has already shed an outer layer of gas and dust.


Credit: SPACE.com and Spaceweather.com.