Can you see Comet PANSTARRS now?
Here’s the view northward on April evenings. At present the Big Dipper is high in the north. Notice the two outer stars in the bowl of the Big Dipper. These two stars – called Duhbe and Merak – always point to Polaris, the North Star.
Polaris is special because it always stays in the same spot in the northern sky. It’s the star around which the entire northern sky appears to turn. That’s because Polaris is located more or less above the northern axis of the Earth, and the wheeling of the stars across the dome of night is really due to Earth’s turning, after all.
Polaris is also fun to locate for another reason. It’s part of a famous – though elusive – star pattern, known as the Little Dipper. If you’ve ever looked for the Dippers, you know that the Big Dipper is usually pretty easy to find. But the Little Dipper is much tougher, partly because it’s fainter, and partly because its shape is not nearly as dipper-like as its larger counterpart.
So here it is! The Little Dipper! The North Star, Polaris, marks the end of its handle.
Can you see Comet PANSTARRS now?
Yes, you can still see Comet PANSTARRS – with binoculars. Look in the northwest about 70 to 90 minutes after sunset. This photo was taken on April 1, 2013, by Jim Peacock in northern Wisconsin. Thank you Jim! Look for two faint fuzzy objects aligned up-and-down in the middle of the photo. Comet PANSTARRS is at bottom and the Andromeda galaxy at top. Click here for a larger photo
