Comet C/2011

By: Calusa Night Sky Tours

Comet C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS is in the Constellation of Cetus, the Whale. With a visual magnitude (brightness) of +0.5 it’s at a distance of 165.3 million km. It transits overhead today at 1:37 PM and is currently setting
at 7:24 PM

The Comets Altitude or height above the horizon is just +10deg 53′ 51.2″ In order to observe the comet in low power binoculars you will need a good clean horizon or other space free of as much light pollution and tall objects as possible, where you can see 10deg above the horizon. The gray line running along the bottom of the chart shows it’s track. Additional information on PANSTARRS may be found at Sky and Telescope magazine online.

This star chart is courtesy of SkySafari Plus for the Mac. Available from the App Store.