the evening sky. By the time that the moon leaves the early evening sky around December 12, the comet will have sunk closer to the glare of evening dusk.
But don’t despair! Although the stars set in the western evening sky some four minutes earlier with each passing day, or one-half hour earlier with each passing week, these same stars also rise into the eastern morning sky four minutes earlier daily, or one-half hour earlier weekly. So the morning sky might be your better bet for seeing Comet Garradd in December.
Comet Garradd in the morning sky
Our sky chart shows the east-northeast sky for around 6 a.m in early December, or 4 a.m. by the month’s end. Brilliant Vega shines in the northeast sky, below the second-magnitude stars Rastaban and Eltanin, the two brightest in the constellation Draco the Dragon. Seek the comet about two fist-widths to the right of Vega and one fist-width below the Keystone. Hold your fist at an arm’s length away.
Moonlight will flood the predawn sky from about December 8 to 20. As fortune would have it, though, the last week of December presents the best chance to catch this elusive comet. At that time, there will be no moon to obscure the predawn sky. What’s more, Comet Garradd will rise earlier and climb higher into the morning darkness. Look for the comet to swing very close to the star Lambda Herculis for several days, centered on December 29. Aim your binoculars at this star … and who knows … you may see this faint fuzzball of a comet nearby.
By the way, the star Lambda Herculis and Comet Garradd will share the same binocular field of view from around mid-December till early January.
Star-hopping with binoculars to find the comet
Before looking for any comet, it’s best to practice star-hopping to deep-sky objects with binoculars. Since you’ll probably be using the Keystone to star-hop to Comet Garradd, how about star-hopping to the Hercules globular star cluster (Messier 13) right off the bat? Through binoculars, the Hercules cluster looks like a dim and possibly fuzzy star. With a good telescope, you can begin to appreciate the Hercules cluster for what it really is – a globe-shaped stellar city teeming with hundreds of thousands of stars.
Image: Sky & Telescope
The Hercules cluster (Messier 13) is only somewhat brighter than sixth magnitude, which means it’s just barely bright enough to perceive with the unaided eye. You need a clear, dark night and eagle-eyed vision to see this sixth-magnitude object as a faint speck of light. More than likely, you’ll need binoculars to spot the Hercules cluster.
It’ll be good practice to observe this cluster with binoculars time and time again before searching for a comet that may or may not reach sixth magnitude in brightness. Once you’ve become accustomed to finding the Hercules cluster (Messier 13), try finding Hercules’ fainter globular star cluster, Messier 92. At 6.5 magnitude (the higher the magnitude, the dimmer the object) Messier 92 is somewhere around 1.5 to 2 times dimmer than Messier 13.
Comet Garradd will pair up with the star Lambda Herculis on December 29, 2011, and M92 on February 3, 2012. So think photo opportunity! If you’re able to locate this star or Messier 92, you can use either one to find Comet Garradd on or near those dates.
Sky chart of the constellation Hercules, including M13 and M92
Sky chart: Wikimedia Commons
Tracking down and spotting Comet Garradd with binoculars won’t come easily. I first saw it as a small, faint fuzzball in my 10×50 binoculars on the evening of October 23.
You’ll need a good familiarity with the constellation Hercules and a detailed sky chart to find this comet. (Click here for another sky chart.) Plus, you’ll need a dark, moonless night and perhaps 10 to 20 minutes in the dark to give your eyes time to adapt. EarthSky reader Willow Lepanto sums it up most eloquently: “love chasing something untouchable … and uncatchable.”
But if you’re up for the challenge, Comet Garradd may be yours to behold on dark, moonless nights in December of 2011 and winter of 2012!
Bruce McClure has served as lead writer f