Amazing comet movies from SOHO satellite.

Cross your eyes and regale in this puppy. I can see the 3D sitting about 2 feet back from the monitor. Don't do this for too long - your eyes will hurt.

Great explanation of the discovery of the McNaught comet from the discovery site - Siding Spring Observatory (Australia).

The purpose of the observatory is to find all the Near Earth Objects (NEO's) that could potentially form a hazard for Earth impact.

Great 3D simulation (requires JAVA) of McNaught comet. Here you can change the viewpoint of the camera and see that the comet is not oriented with the ecliptic at all.

It originated in the "south" (which explains why McNaught, in Australia was the first to see it), then it whips around the sun in a brief excursion above the ecliptic (where it is now - and why we can see it) and INSIDE the orbit of Mercury.

So - we will not be able to see the comet in the northern hemisphere AT ALL once it passes through the ecliptic on Jan 14. Last night was likely the last chance we'll get to see it visually. We'll have to wait for pictures from our friends in Australia - and the observations of the SOHO satellite.

This explains the geometry as to why the comet is also currently visible in the morning. I thought it had to be one or the other, but this shows how the comet can be above the horizon while the sun is below in both cases!

Evening diagram:
http://www.spaceweather.com/images2007/08jan07/skymap_north.gif

Apparently McNaught is bright enough to seen in broad daylight!

Cool visualizations of celestial events (including comet McNaught)

ChrisWei and I went to see comet McNaught last night from the Seattle watefront. The sky was mostly overcast, but there was a small gap through which we could see the comet about 15 minutes after sunset. This photo from FlickR captures pretty precisely what we saw.

I'm still confused about whether this comet is coming or going. I've seen photos of it taken in the morning (on the other side of the sun), but also reports that it is on it's way toward the sun right now. Those seem contradictory to me - so I'll have to do more research.

One more chance to see comet McNaught, just after sunset (4:41 pm tonight). We have clear skies - so should be a great opportunity.

Quoted: According to NASA, McNaught is six times brighter than Hale-Bopp and 100 times brighter than Halley's Comet.
...
If you missed it, you'll have another chance to see it tomorrow. Experts say, weather permitting, the best time will be at sunset. Look west, just above the horizon right after the sun goes down.
...
After it rounds the sun, Comet McNaught will be visible during the day, but only from the Southern Hemisphere.