Comet Lulin
During some slow periods in meteor shower activity a new comet discovered in July of 2007, the Comet Lulin, will be visible in your sky this month. The visible comet will be closest to Earth on February 24th and is expected to be slightly brighter than the faintest visible star in the sky, this will allow naked-eye observation. Only viewers in the darkest areas will be able to see this comet without the aid of telescopes or binoculars. One interesting fact about this comet is that it’s orbit is opposite the planets in our Solar System so it will appear to be moving quicker. Don’t be mislead and think that you will see a ball of light streaking across the sky, because this comet is about 14 times the Moon’s distance from Earth it will appear relatively stationery. However, if you do look at it with a telescope you may see the apparent motion of the Comet Lulin in relation to the background of stars. To view this comet on February 24th, look under the constellation Leo and as an extra special treat, Saturn will also be in the sky at the same time kindly located near each other. Don’t forget that about six sporadic meteors per hour can be seen on any given day.
Until the next meteor shower, I will be keeping you updated on meteor facts and fun. Drop your comments anywhere on the site, I always enjoy reading them and try my best to answer them all.
Keep your head up.
- Meteor Mark
Here is what the Comet Lulin might look like in your sky. Wow exciting stuff, huh?
All kidding aside, I do find this stuff fun to look at. You will notice that it does not move in the sky and remains relatively stationery. The constellation Leo is located in the Eastern Sky for viewers in North America.
on Feb 1st, 2009 at 7:29 pm
I just saw what I think to be a rather large meteorite fall directly due north of Ludington, MI 49431 at 1900 on February 1, 2009
on Feb 1st, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Jan,
Check the glossary on our site for clarification of meteorite, did this hit the ground? You may have witnessed a fireball, bolide or meteor.
Keep in touch,
Meteor Mark
on Feb 2nd, 2009 at 12:00 am
Around 7:30PM PST at a Super Bowl party in the Santa Cruz Mountains – my friend looked out a large window facing southwest and shouted that a giant green comet or shooting star whizzed by. On the way home at 8:20pm to the Bay Area – KCBS news is reporting this was seen all over the bay area and thus it was not likely a shooting star. We would like to find out what this was.
Thank you,
Teresa
on Feb 2nd, 2009 at 10:04 am
Santa Cruz,
Please read the glossary on this site.
Comets don’t whiz by; therefore it was not a comet as explained in the post above. “Shooting stars” are also called meteors and meteors are sometimes called bolides or fireballs.
I haven’t heard any news on this yet.
- Meteor Mark
on Feb 2nd, 2009 at 4:32 pm
My husband and I saw this “shooting star” in Santa Cruz too. It did have a strainge green flash as it seemed to come apart in pieces. I was trying to find some news on this as well. – Curious
on Feb 2nd, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Hello Curious,
Not all fireballs make the headlines. Millions of particles enter the Earth’s atmosphere each day. A spectacular display like you mentioned could have been caused by a pea-sized rock entering the atmosphere at 80,000 mph!
If it broke into pieces it may have been a bolide. Bolides commonly explode at the end of their flight.
Sounds cool, hope you enjoyed it.
Meteor Mark
on Feb 5th, 2009 at 10:43 am
in 2006 or 2007 there was a meteor shower and when it was over they said it want happen for another 30 years is this true
on Feb 5th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Shane,
Yes this could be true. What they may have been referring to is the strength of a particular event. I am looking into finding more information about this for you.
- Meteor Mark
on Feb 7th, 2009 at 12:35 am
I have just witnessed a meteor falling near my home in Middle Village, New York, that is in Queens. It was approximately 12:10 AM on Feb 7, 2009. I am not sure how big it was but it was clearly visible and it looked like it feel around a local park which is 4 blocks away. Any news on this strike?
on Feb 7th, 2009 at 12:40 am
Edward,
I have not heard anything yet about this. It is rare that meteors do reach Earth. If it did in fact, reach Earth, you may have heard a sound such as a sonic boom. Meteors that are capable of becoming meteorites are rather large and are traveling at up to 100x the speed of sound!
I will keep on the lookout. This fireball may have been a sporadic meteor or part of the α-Centaurids meteor shower that is peaking right now. (February 7th EST)
- Meteor Mark
on Feb 7th, 2009 at 12:59 am
Well, I didn’t hear any boom, but from my point of view, it looked about the size of a bright star, as seen from Earth, so I guess it shouldn’t have been huge, but it was definitely noticeable. Thanks for the response.
on Feb 10th, 2009 at 10:30 am
when is the next time a visible meteor shower will occur
on Feb 10th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Shane,
The Lyrids is the next major meteor shower. I will be posting more when it gets closer to their peak date.
You can read this post: Sporadic Meteors
I included a meteor schedule for the next few months within that post.
Meteor Shower activity is a little slow right now.
Keep your head up.
- Meteor Mark
on Feb 11th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
On Sunday February 1st, I was outside looking up at the sky southwest of Salem sometime in the early evening, maybe 6 or 7. I saw what looked like a regular star and noticed that it was slowly descending. Thought maybe it was an airplane at first but didn’t see any blinking lights. After maybe 15-20 seconds, it dimmed and had a slight reddish look to it, then it was gone. The sky was clear, and it looked too bright and moved slower than I’ve seen satellites move, and it didn’t have a tail like a comet, just looked like a star. Any ideas?
on Feb 11th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
Karla,
My best guess is that it was the planet Venus which sets in the western sky. The change in color may have been due to air pollution. Unfortunately the beautiful sunsets we see are due to this same fact (air pollution). It was likely to have the same effect on the planet as well.
Venus is still prominent in our skies right now during the time periods you described.
Hope this helps and bookmark the site. Meteor shower activity is slow right now, but good things are coming.
- Meteor Mark
on Feb 13th, 2009 at 11:10 am
On Wed. February 11th, we had a storm blow thru that had a lot of high wind and lightning strikes. During the lightning strikes the sky lit up red toward the north and blue and green towards the east. We contacted our local weather person and they suggested we check to see if there had been a meteorite shooting by. Can you tell us if there was.
on Feb 13th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Debbie,
Thanks for your comment. Without knowing your location I wouldn’t be able to tell you if a meteorite has landed in your area. Please look up the difference between meteorite vs. meteor by reading the glossary on this site you will see there is a difference that may be interesting to you.
- Meteor Mark
on Feb 15th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Hi. I live in Barbados and on Feb. 6, around sunset (between 5:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. I saw what looked like a comet in the sky. It stood out like a white streak in the orange-coloured sky and it was there for about 10 mins. It was shaped like a comet but the tail wasn’t very long and the longer I watched it, the smaller the whole thing got until it disappeared (the tail didn’t shorten, the image appeared to be moving westward, away from the island).
I’ve witnessed shooting stars before, this wasn’t one- it didn’t fizzle out quickly (actually, no stars were out yet). It also didn’t appear to be any sort of vessel like an airplane, leaving exhaust as the tail didn’t lengthen. The whole thing just appeared to be a very bright white, like it was superhot.
Any idea what it was?
on Feb 15th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Win,
Thanks for the comment. It sounds like it was a lone cloud in the sky on the horizon. Keep in mind “shooting stars” do not only appear when stars are visible. You may find our glossary interesting on this site. You can also use the search tool and type in “meteor facts” some of my posts may enlighten you.
- Meteor Mark
on Feb 16th, 2009 at 5:54 am
… I know clouds come in all shapes and sizes but why would one be comet-shaped and get smaller over time? It literally looked like a small streak in the sky, not a cloud, and it was so bright. The other clouds in the sky were the typical cumulus clouds you’d see at sunset. This thing I saw was significantly smaller, had a definite ‘shape’ and was moving in a particular direction until it disappeared. I dunno, maybe you’re right. Thanks.
on Feb 16th, 2009 at 7:44 am
Win,
Too bad you couldn’t have snapped a picture.
Thanks for the comments.
- Meteor Mark
on Feb 17th, 2009 at 1:51 am
It was obviously a jet.
on Feb 19th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
Hello,
I live in Milwaukee, WI 15 minutes away from downtown. I was staring at the sky earlier tonight because I noticed that there was something VERY bright and big. It Looked brighter than a normal star. It was west of where I am. I think it was there for more than an hour when I saw it and then it started to get smaller and farther away. Once it was farther away, I could see like a small orange dot that shined . It was really weird. I went to the attic to see out the windows because it eventually got so small that it was hard to see. I looked through some binoculars and I could see the orange color. Was this a meteor?
on Feb 19th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
Lydia,
This was very likely the planet Venus. Have you ever noticed that our Sun changes colors as it sets? Unfortunately the orange color may have been due to air pollution.
Venus will be visible for a few more months in the western sky.
Thanks for the comment.
- Meteor Mark
on Feb 20th, 2009 at 9:40 pm
where and when can we see this comet at night.
on Feb 20th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
Jen,
The answer is in the above post. Don’t be mislead and think that you will see a ball of light streaking across the sky. In relation to other objects in the night sky, comets sometimes appear stationary, even though they are moving very fast in our solar system.
I hope this helps.
- Meteor Mark
on Feb 24th, 2009 at 2:18 am
The comet Lulin is now visible in your sky! Have fun. Look to the south near the constellation Leo.
on Feb 26th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Hey!
I saw Lulin in the sky on 24th february, i thought it was an airplane but it was so still that i just admired it. Now i know it was a comet. Funny.
Nice guys, from now on i’ll visit this blog to get the hot stuff about this great events!
see ya around!
Ernesto
México!
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.
.
on Feb 26th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Ernesto,
Thanks for the comment!
- Meteor Mark
on Feb 27th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
My mom called from Calif. to tell me to look at the comet by the moon tonight.. Was it a comet? … or Venus? It has been VERY bright. It’s about 9pm.
on Feb 28th, 2009 at 2:12 am
Hi,
I am Diana!
I was just going to ask you about that comet, is that the one that is close to moon, next to it? and it seems like that the bright star is like under the cloud.
I’ve seen one before, but it had a tale and was moving from one place to another, this one doesn’t really moves. there are so many satelites up there, so much trash, so you don’t even know that you are looking at the stars. have you seen that picture? it’s hurt, thinking of what people do with Earth, just to get comfort for them selfs.
on Feb 28th, 2009 at 4:37 am
SusieB,
I am not sure what you were looking at. Venus has been prominent in the western sky, the comet Lulin has been near the constellation Leo and the planet Saturn.
Diana,
The comet may appear “close” to the moon in the sky, but is about 160X farther from Earth than the moon or about 38 million miles. This is why it “appears” stationery in the sky.
- Meteor Mark