dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd) (01/12/86)
Comet Halley strikes a pose with Jupiter and the moon Sunday and Monday evenings. More -- after this. January 12 Halley, Jupiter and the Moon Both Sunday and Monday evening, Comet Halley appears near in the sky to Jupiter and the waxing crescent moon. Jupiter, Halley and the moon are all in the west after sunset. Jupiter and the moon are very bright -- and visible to the eye from 'most anywhere. But to see the comet, you'll want to be out in the country -- where city lights don't interfere. From the country, you can hopefully see Halley as a barely visible smudge of light -- just above Jupiter and the moon Sunday evening. By Monday evening, the moon will have moved. On Monday, the moon and Halley will be nearly side by side in the west after sunset. If you like looking at the sky, just look -- and remember. But if you're handy with a camera, try taking a picture. Pictures of Halley, Jupiter and the moon taken tonight and tomorrow night no doubt will grace the pages of books about comets until Halley's next return in the year 2061. After tonight and tomorrow, all those who enjoyed seeing Halley near Jupiter and the moon will be cursing the waxing crescent! The moon will be growing larger in our sky as it waxes toward full moon on January 25. And just as city lights interfere with our view of the comet, so will bright moonlight. By the end of the month, when the moon goes out of the evening sky, Halley will be setting at the same time as the sun -- to be behind the sun from Earth for most of February. Script by Deborah Byrd. (c) Copyright 1985, 1986 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin