An Up and Coming Comet

Comet C/2007 N3 (Lulin)
Sketch and Details by Michael Rosolina

Comet C/2007 N3 (Lulin) is an up and coming comet for northern hemisphere observers. Discovered in July 2007 by astronomers from mainland China and Taiwan working cooperatively, it was hidden in the solar glare at the end of the year. In late December, the comet became visible shortly before dawn in the southeast as it moved from Scorpius into Libra. As we progress through January into February, it will come up earlier, climb higher into Virgo and Leo, and hopefully become much brighter .

This apparition of Comet Lulin has some interesting features. The comet has a retrograde orbit which is nearly on the same plane as Earth’s and it will be less than half an astronomical unit away at its closest approach. This will make it appear to be a fast mover staying near the ecliptic with its motion obvious in telescopes and binoculars.

Also, we are seeing it almost head on, so its dust tail is visible on both sides of the coma. I did not detect a tail at the low magnification I used for my sketch, but there are now images and observations of a tail posted around the Web.

My sketch shows Comet Lulin’s position on January 1st and its appearance and position 48 hours later. It was headed for a close pass by the 6th magnitude star 47 Librae by January 8th-9th.

The sketch was done in the field with graphite pencils and a stump and inverted digitally. Temperatures ranged from -14° C for the first observation to -3° C for the second, but I was happy to bundle up to get an early look at this visitor from the far reaches of our solar system. Let’s hope Comet Lulin puts on a good show and everyone gets a chance to see it; it won’t be back around for a millenium.

Object Name: C/2007 N3 (Lulin)
Object Type: Comet
Location: Friars Hill, WV USA
Date: 1 Jan. 2009 and 3 Jan. 2009

Michael Rosolina