As we head into the New Year, comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) remains superbly placed for observation as it continues to brighten into January. The comet that was discovered by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy has so far exceeded expectations and has been well seen from southern and tropical latitudes. For most of December, although Lovejoy was just beyond naked eye visibility it was an easy binocular and small telescope target, moving northwesterly through the southern constellations of Puppis, Columba and Lepus. By Christmas Day, Lovejoy had brightened to magnitude +5.4 and therefore within naked eye visibility. It's expected to peak at about magnitude +4.5 during the middle of January.

Northern Hemisphere based observers haven't had much of a look at Lovejoy but that's going to change. During the last days of December it can be spotted low down above the southern horizon with visibility continually improving as it climbs higher each subsequent evening. From southern latitudes, Lovejoy remains observable in excellent condition until late January.

Location and star chart

Comet Lovejoy started December in Puppis moving on a northwesterly trajectory. It then passed into Columba on December 17th where it remains until December 27th before crossing the border into Lepus. It passes close by globular cluster M79 on December 29th. On January 2nd, the comet moves into the large constellation of Eridanus remaining there for a week before crossing into Taurus on January 9th. It's expected to be close to peak brightness at this time and hopefully a nice naked eye sight with a long tail. As it continues to head north, Lovejoy moves into Aries on January 16th, Triangulum on January 24th and the into Andromeda on the last day of the month. Although still bright enough to be seen with the naked eye, Lovejoy is predicted to have faded to magnitude +5.3 by the beginning of February.

Many comets are often seen at their best either above the western horizon just after sunset or above the eastern horizon just before sunrise. Lovejoy is different in that it's positioned almost on the opposite side of sky to the Sun and therefore visible for much of the night. Adding to the splendour; from about January 5th to 13th the comet passes about 15 degrees west of probably the most famous constellation of the sky, Orion "the Hunter".

Over the next few weeks it will be very interesting to follow Lovejoy. It's already brighter than originally predicted and could brighten even further still. As with all comets, they are extremely unpredictable objects where anything can happen - and often does - so keep watching!!

The finder charts below show the positions of comet Lovejoy from December 3, 2014 to January 11, 2015.

Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) Finder Chart from January 6th to January 11th, 2015 - pdf format

Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) Finder Chart from December 28th, 2014 to January 6th, 2015 - pdf format

Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) Finder Chart from December 3rd to December 29th, 2014 - pdf format

C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) Data (at epoch December 9, 2014)

Comet (C2014/Q2) Lovejoy Data Table

See also

Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) heads north during March, remains a binocular and small telescope object
Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) remains visible with binoculars and small telescopes during February 2015
How to see Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) during January 2015
Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) now visible with binoculars from Southern latitudes