Comet Hartley 2 approaches close to Earth and will be faintly visible to the naked eye during October and early November 2010. Throughout the month comet Hartley should be near the limit of naked eye visibility. With binoculars or a small telescope comet Hartley 2 should be easily visible and show a small tail.
In particular between October 7 and 9, 2010 comet Hartley 2 will be very close to the double cluster in Perseus (h and chi Persei). At its closest approach to the double cluster, comet Hartley 2 will be less than twice the diameter of the full Moon south of the double cluster. The comet will also be relatively close to the cluster in the sky, in the direction of the tip of Perseus, for a few nights afterwards.
The double cluster in Perseus is visible from dark skies as a faint smudge between the bottom of the sideways w forming Cassiopeia and the tip of Perseus. To the naked eye the comet may appear as a barely visible extra smudge near the double cluster. Binoculars or a small telescope will reveal the comet more clearly.
To find Cassiopeia look to the northeast in the early evening for a sideways w shaped pattern of stars. Cassiopeia is on the other side of Polaris from the Big Dipper, which is low in the northwest.
Astronomers can very accurately predict a comet's orbit and position in the sky. However the brightness of a comet is much more difficult to predict. Comets are often much brighter or fainter than astronomers' predictions. Stargazers need to go outside to a dark location and look for the comet to see how bright it will be.
There will be no Moon out to interfere with observing Comet Hartley 2, so find a dark sky location and enjoy comet hunting.
Addendum: I observed comet Hartley 2 on the night of October 7. It does not seem to be as bright as predicted. I was unable to see it with 7X50 binoculars. I was barely able to see it with a 4 inch telescope and saw it with a 12 inch telescope.
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