Comet Lulin Incoming

Watch the pre-dawn skies whenever it's clear for the next two weeks. There is a new comet named Lulin currently inbound. It's orbit nearly matches the plane of the ecliptic, meaning it's aligned with Earth and the other planets, but it's traveling in the opposite direction.

The comet will be closest to Earth on February 24 and will be at opposition (opposite the Sun) on February 25. That should be while the moon is new, so the skies should be as dark as possible, and excellent for viewing a comet. During opposition, Lulin will be visible all night.

The comet's perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) is inside the orbit of Mars, but outside the orbit of Earth, so we will never be able to see a "fan" shaped tail. In fact, since the tail points away from the Sun, and the Earth in this case, and because the comet's orbit is aligned with the ecliptic, we will only see a thin tail extending from both sides of the comet. It's close approach to Earth in a dark sky is what should make it interesting.

For more detailed information, see the description at Sky and Telescope.