The brightest comet that can be seen in the night sky at the moment is comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2). At the end of December it was a superb binocular/telescope sight, faintly visible to naked eye as it moved through the southern constellations of Columba and Lepus. The comet then continued to brighten until peaking at magnitude +3.9 during closest approach to the Earth on January 7th. On this day it was 0.469 AU (70.2 million km or 43.6 million miles) distant from our planet and although the bright Moon somewhat interfered, the comet was easily visible with binoculars and small scopes as a large hazy circular patch of light. When imaged or photographed it displayed a long thin wispy green tail that extended over 10 degrees in length.

Now fading Lovejoy remains excellently placed for observation from the Northern Hemisphere during February. As the month progresses it's expected to fade from magnitude +4.8 to +6.3. For the first part of February the comet should still be visible to the naked eye and will remain an easy binocular and small telescope target for quite sometime to come.

From southern latitudes the comet maybe glimpsed low down above the northern horizon at the start of February. However, for these observers it isn't long before it disappears from view completely. On January 30, Lovejoy reaches perihelion (closest point to the Sun) at 1.2908 AU equivalent to 193.1 million kilometres or 120 million miles.

Location and star chart

During February, Lovejoy continues its northwesterly motion against the background stars. The comet starts the month in southeastern Andromeda close to the border with Triangulum and Perseus. On February 1st it's located 4 degrees southeast of star Almach (γ And - mag. +2.1) and is expected to shine at magnitude +4.8. Over the next few nights the comet moves closer to Almach and on February 5th the two objects are separated by only 0.5 degrees.

Although Lovejoy is now moving away from the Earth and heading into deep space it still moves reasonably quickly against the night sky backdrop. It's possible to notice its motion from one night to the next and even in a single observing session. On February 20th/21st the comet passes less than half a degree west of M76, the Little Dumbbell nebula in Perseus. At magnitude +10.1 and spanning 2.7 x 1.8 arc minutes this planetary nebula is one of the faintest, smallest and difficult objects in Messier's catalogue.

February offers an excellent opportunity for northern-based observers to follow comet Lovejoy. It based high in the sky and should be visible through binoculars or small scopes as a fading fuzzy nebulous patch of light that may even appear slightly greenish with a small tail.

The finder charts below show the positions of the comet from January 18th to March 1, 2015.

Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) Finder Chart from January 28th to March 1, 2015 - pdf format

Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) Finder Chart from January 18th to January 30th, 2015 - 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
How to see Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) during January 2015
Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) a naked eye comet for the New Year
Comet Lovejoy (C/2014 Q2) now visible with binoculars from Southern latitudes