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A long wait for Comet PanSTARRS

by John Crossen

Unless you have a licence to practice immortality you had better get out and see Comet PanSTARRS on the next clear night.

The comet won’t orbit back into our solar system and around the Sun for another 106,000 years.

An uncluttered view to the western horizon is all that you need to see the comet. About 8:30 p.m. is the time to be scouting the western sky. It is currently about 20 degrees above the horizon.

While PanSTARRS is visible with the naked eye, binoculars will help you spot it in the glow of the setting Sun.

The comet takes its name from the observatory and observing program that stumbled onto it while combing the sky for Near Earth Objects – a.k.a. menacing asteroids.

Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System is the telescope’s name and it lives high up on the Hawaiian Island of Maui.

The photograph was taken by Peterborough resident Phillip Chee. Phillip is a member of the Peterborough Astronomical Association and as you can see is also an excellent astro-photographer.

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