This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Utahns likely will be able to catch a glimpse of a comet in the dusk sky this week.
Comet Pan-STARRS will be coming within 30 million miles of the sun for what appears to be the first time, according to Seth Jarvis, director of the Clark Planetarium.
"The thing that is cool is this is a brand new comet, coming from the Oort Cloud," Jarvis said. "This has been falling into the sun for more than 1 million years."
Comets are incredibly difficult to predict. Jarvis and Patrick Wiggins, NASA solar system ambassador to Utah, both quoted David Levy of Comet Shoemaker-Levy fame: "Comets are like cats; they have tails, and they do precisely what they want."
A new comet has the potential to be quite bright as it may have plenty of volatile material that is just waiting to melt off and glow in a bright tail. Or, maybe the comet needs to come back around a couple of times on its 10,000-year orbit to discard enough of its outer shell to put on a good show.
Wiggins warned of the hype that surrounded Comet Kohoutek in the 1970s when it was deemed the comet of the century. However, it had partly disintegrated by the time of its near approach and was widely viewed as a letdown.
"We have a subdued excitement," Wiggins said. "There are lots of crossed fingers."
Astronomers in the southern hemisphere could see the comet last week, and they said viewers may need help finding the comet in the dusk sky. However, people should be able to see it well with binoculars, Wiggins said, and possibly with the naked eye.
The Salt Lake Astronomical Society will open up its large, 200mm telescope at the Stansbury Park Observatory Complex on Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Viewers should be able to see Comet Pan-STARRS, a distant Comet ISON, a delicate crescent moon and Jupiter Wednesday night.
National Weather Service meteorologist Monica Traphagan said a high-pressure system should clear out the sky for the most part.
"Weather shouldn't be an issue," she said.
Viewers wanting to see the comet from the Salt Lake Valley need to have a low western horizon, meaning being up on the east bench or down in the Tooele valley away from mountains, and should look due west right as sun is setting. It's important not to look directly at the sun. The comet should be visible just below an incredibly thin crescent moon Wednesday night just above the horizon.
Comet ISON is causing a stir in the astronomy community as it may be a daylight-visible comet when it gets within a mere 1 million miles of the sun in November. Again, though, astronomers are tempering their expectations.
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