Right now, there is a comet up in the night sky, Comet Garradd. To make a wonderful sight even better, it is passing right next to globular star cluster M92, located in the summer constellation of Hercules, which is best seen in the last hour of dark just before sunrise. So, how to go about seeing the comet?
As of now, the comet is located right above the famous Keystone of Hercules asterism. Foe anyone well-versed in the night sky, you know where this is, so feel free to skip to the next paragraph. For anyone not familiar with the sky, look between Vega (a bright blue star low in the Northeast) and Arcturus (a bright orange star high in the Southwest). In between these bright stars, there will be a dim, slightly out-of-shape 'H' pattern of stars, the main body of the constellation Hercules. The top 4 stars are the keystone and, right above them, is the comet (picture with labels).
Right now, the Comet is within a few degrees of the M92 star cluster, the “other” Hercules globular. If it were not for the “great” M13 cluster, M92 would have a lot more visitors as it is one of the brightest globulars in the sky in of itself.
However, while the comet will not be going away any time soon, there is no better time than the present to go look for it considering that it will be placed right next to such a well-known star pattern.
For anyone not owning a telescope, binoculars from a dark sky also work well in sweeping up the comet, especially if the binoculars are mounted onto a tripod to prevent hand shake. In binoculars, or even a large finder scope, the comet will look like a tiny, white fuzzball, giving a perfect illustration of French astronomer Charles Messier 's frustration of time lost on a whole host of annoying objects that weren't comets.
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