Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) was discovered (at magnitude +14.8) by T. Lovejoy (Birkdale, Qld., Australia) on 17 August 2014 on CCD images obtained with a 20-cm f/2.1 Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope. It is the fifth comet discovered by Terry Lovejoy.
On 7 January 2015, comet C/2014 Q2 passed 0.469 AU (1 AU = ~150 million kilometers) from Earth and it will reach the perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) on 30 January 2015 at a distance of 1.29 AU from the Sun. Comet Lovejoy reached few days ago its peak brightness at about magnitude +3.8, as bright as it should get, making it a naked-eye object. It is currently still at about magnitude +4.3. See below an updated light-curve.
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| Credit: S. Yoshida |
Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) puts on a great show on January’s evening sky, with its very long, structured and rapidly changing ion tail. Below an image of comet C/2014 Q2 taken on 14 January 2015. More info on the caption. Click on it or here for a bigger version
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| Credit: E. Guido |
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| Credit: E. Guido |
Below an image of comet C/2014 Q2 taken on 16 January 2015. Click on it for a bigger version.
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| Credit: Nick Howes/Tzec Muan Observatory |
Below a finder chart to help you locate this comet during January 2015. The dates are in Universal Time; the ticks are at 0:00 UT. Click on it for a bigger version.
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| Credit: Sky & Telescope |
by Ernesto Guido, Martino Nicolini & Nick Howes
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