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From: jay@npois.UUCP (Anton Winteroak)
Newsgroups: net.astro
Subject: Halleys Comet this month
Message-ID: <464@npois.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 2-Dec-85 12:52:17 EST
Article-I.D.: npois.464
Posted: Mon Dec  2 12:52:17 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 5-Dec-85 04:27:30 EST
Organization: ATTIS, Neptune, NJ
Lines: 41


	This month (December, 1985) Halley's Comet will be passing
through Pisces, into Aquarius. By mid to late January it will become
a difficult object to see in the evening twilight in the west.
	To find the comet, go to a dark place, with clear skies,
and bring a pair of binoculars.
	About eight PM look to the Southwest. High in the sky you
should see four fairly bright stars that form an almost square figure,
tipped on it's side to look diamond shaped. This is the Great square
of Pegasus. Halley's Comet will be moving roughly parallel to the 
lower left side of this diamond.
	On the evening of December 5th, it will be on an extension
of the line drawn through the top and leftmost stars in Pegasus,
about two or three finger widths (at arms length) below and to the left
of the leftmost star. It will be at magnitude 6.3. People living on
mountain tops in the desert, with 20/10 vision may be able to see it
naked eye, but they won't be impressed.
	On December 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th, it will be in the
circlet in Pisces. The circlet is the lower fish. This is a ring of
five or six third and forth magnitude stars, about four fingers below
the line connecting the leftmost, and bottom stars of Pegasus.
	On December 17th, the comet will be on an extension of the line
connecting the rightmost and bottom stars of Pegasus, about five finger-widths
below and to the left of the bottom star. At that time it should be 
magnitude 6.2, but in many areas, starting to be obscured a little by the
oblique view through the atmosphere.
	On December 24th through 31st, the comet will pass half a finger
width from the Water Jar the Aquarius is carrying. The comet will be
below and to the left of this collection of four stars, one 2nd, two 3rd,
and one 4th magnitude forming  a long quadralaterial 3 finger widths long,
and one wide.
	Be careful not to confuse the comet with a globular cluster below
and to the right by three finger widths, called M2, because it was the
second object in Charles Messier's catalogue of things he often mistook
for comets.
	On December 31st, the Comet should be magnitude 5.9. It will spend
the rest of January moving slowly down from the Water Jar. On January 15th,
it will be about four finger widths below the lowest star in the Water Jar,
at magnitude 5.1, but elongated only 34 degrees from the sun. This is 
further out than mercury ever gets, but it is still difficult.