‘I’m never coming back’: A rare green comet was seen over the area tonight

Paul Lynam, an astronomer at the Lick Observatory in Mount Hamilton, told SFGATE that it’s unlikely anyone in the Bay Area will be able to see the comet with the naked eye due to light pollution, so a binocular telescope—or ideally a small pair of binoculars that provide a wider open field of view—will come in handy.

Lynam’s comet was witnessed from the observatory at about 9 pm on Wednesday night, and it is recommended that people in the northern night sky between the north and north and wait for it.

“What I noticed with a cheap pair of binoculars was an extended, diffuse object more spread out than a star, and a little brighter,” he said. “It looked like the hand of a lady fan that was exposed at an angle slightly less than 90 degrees.”

If you can’t see it right away, don’t give up.

“Comets are now known to appear quickly from night to night,” Lynam said. “If you can see it, know that it’s moving towards the stars in the background, and if you’re lucky, you can see the morphology – the shape and structure of the tail.”

Gerald McKeegan, an astronomer at the Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland, said the comet may also appear to have two tails, one made of gas and the other of particles. He believes that it is still a coincidence that observers “in the darkest places in the sky far from the city lights” can see it without the help of aids until the first days of February. After this, the comet will remain in the night sky, but will be increasingly difficult to see as it moves from the US in the southern hemisphere.

The so-called comet gets its green shade from carbon-based compounds that interact with ultraviolet light in the atmosphere, which then breaks down and forms dicarbon, the molecule that emits the color. But observers shouldn’t expect the comet to zoom across the sky in a vibrant, clover-colored way, David Prosper, night sky network administrator with the Pacific Society in San Francisco, told SFGATE.

“The funny part is that while it’s called a green comet, the color isn’t really visible unless you get some good magnification on it,” said Prosper, who is also the administrator of NASA’s Night Sky Network. “It seems that folks report a certain green color when looking through telescopes that are 6 inches in diameter or larger, but everyone’s eyes are different. The pictures show a nice green color.

Unfortunately, there are several factors at play that could affect the visibility of the comet. Prosper told SFGATE that the moon will become increasingly bright over the next week, and Dalton Behringer, an astrologer with the National Weather Service, said scattered cloud strata are scattered and may hinder spotters on Saturday and Sunday night.

“If people were trying to see, they could go into higher places and above the fog layer,” Behringer said.

That said, Thursday and Friday night could be your best bet. After this weekend, stargazers can have more luck by visiting the Chabot Space & Science Center, which plans to offer free telescope viewing from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday night, and again on Dec. 3 and 4. The San Francisco Amateur Astronomers plans to host a public star party this Saturday from 6 to 10 pm at the Fort Foundation.

Lynam and McKeegan also suggested looking at Jupiter, which will appear as one of the brightest lights in the western sky — you can even see the four moons around the planet if you have a pair of binoculars. Mars will also be visible, emitting a bright orange or red light.

Anything you find among the stars is worth taking a look at, as a comet’s orbit is erratic and could pass for thousands of years before returning, if at all.

“We cannot say definitively what the comet’s orbit is. Once it comes and is completely ejected from our solar system,” Lynam said. “It may take thousands of years or never come back.”