[net.space] Comet 1983e

Lynn.es@PARC-MAXC.ARPA (05/25/83)

Two ephemerides I have seen show the comet going in front of Andromeda 
galaxy (M-31) on May 28 (not the following week, as one message I 
saw stated).  Because the comet is still moving slowly, it will take 
many hours to cross.  This is fortunate, since the time of the comet 
being centered on M-31 will probably occur during US daylight hours 
on the 28th.  The ephemerides are expected to have some error in them 
because the comet has not been tracked long enough, so it wouldn't 
hurt to look a day early.  

Andromeda was up reasonably high long before dawn a week ago when I 
spotted the comet, and it's getting slightly further before dawn every 
day.  Nearly full moon will shed some unwanted light on the scene, but it 
will be quite a distance away, so a small telescope or possibly binoculars 
should be adequate if your are away from city lights.

/Don Lynn