Comets, collections of ice, dust, and small rocky particles, are a rare but impressive sight.  Few comets are visible with the naked eye, but those that are show up as a brilliant streak in the nighttime sky.  The distinctive "tail" consists of ice and other particles released in a trail when the comet is bombarded by solar radiation.

A new comet has been discovered, which should be gracing our skies for the next few weeks and be bright enough to see with binoculars or even with the naked eye in the Northern Hemisphere. 

The comet was named Comet Lulin after the Lulin Observatory at Nantou, Taiwan. A 16-inch telescope snapped the first images of it in July 11, 2007.  Taken by Chi Sheng Lin, the images were not identified as anything out of the ordinary until 19-year old student, Quanzhi Ye at Sun Yat-sen University in Mainland China, compared three of the images to discover a moving comet.  The comet was initially mistaken for an asteroid, but quickly determined to be a comet when its tail was glimpsed in newer images.

The new comet's formal name is Comet C/2007 N3.  The new comet will be the brightest in 15 months.  The comet will be a magnitude 5 or 6 in brightness.  It is rather large in size with an "atmosphere" of emitted particles (called a coma) three times the diameter of Jupiter.  The atmosphere consists of cyanogen (CN) and diatomic carbon (C2), gases that glow green when exposed to the light of the sun.

In good weather, the comet is expected to be visible by the naked eye in dark, rural, skies.  For those in the city or urban areas, a pair of binoculars should suffice for a glimpse at the comet, which looks like a fuzzy star.  However, the brightness of comets is unpredictable so it could be brighter or dimmer.  The comet's position in the sky will vary by location, so consult a sky map.

Having past the perihelion point of its orbit (its closest approach to the sun) on January 10, the comet is now on an approach towards Earth in its orbit.  It will reach a minimum of 38 million miles from Earth on February 24, meaning that its brightest week will be the last week of February.  The comet is unusual in that it rotates in the opposite direction of the planets, meaning that it will track faster in the night sky.  This will also cause it to appear earlier each night.

The comet is currently positioned near the constellation Libra in the predawn sky.  It will be moving on a northwest trajectory.  There's a possibility that the comet may even spawn two tails -- a main tail and an "antitail" a rare phenomenon occasionally observed.  For sky observers, this new comet is likely to prove to be the celestial viewing event of the New Year.