C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy) is a long-period

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...

discovered on 7 September 2013 by Terry Lovejoy using a

Schmidt–Cassegrain telescope The Schmidt–Cassegrain is a catadioptric telescope that combines a Cassegrain reflector's optical path with a Schmidt corrector plate to make a compact astronomical instrument that uses simple spherical surfaces. Invention and design The A ...

. It is the fourth comet discovered by Terry Lovejoy. C/2013 R1 crossed the

celestial equator The celestial equator is the great circle of the imaginary celestial sphere on the same plane as the equator of Earth. This plane of reference bases the equatorial coordinate system. In other words, the celestial equator is an abstract proj ...

on 14 October 2013, becoming a better Northern Hemisphere object.

History

By 1 November 2013, the comet was visible to the

naked eye Naked eye, also called bare eye or unaided eye, is the practice of engaging in visual perception unaided by a magnifying, light-collecting optical instrument, such as a telescope or microscope, or eye protection. Vision corrected to normal ...

near the

Beehive Cluster The Beehive Cluster (also known as Praesepe (Latin for "manger" or "crib"), M44, NGC 2632, or Cr 189), is an open cluster in the constellation Cancer. One of the nearest open clusters to Earth, it contains a larger population of stars than oth ...

(M44), about halfway between

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...

and

Regulus Regulus is the brightest object in the constellation Leo and one of the brightest stars in the night sky. It has the Bayer designation designated α Leonis, which is Latinized to Alpha Leonis, and abbreviated Alpha Leo or α Leo. Reg ...

. It became more impressive than

comet ISON Comet ISON, formally known as C/2012 S1, was a sungrazing comet from the Oort cloud which was discovered on 21 September 2012 by Vitaly Nevsky (Виталий Невский, Vitebsk, Belarus) and Artyom Novichonok (Артём Новичоно� ...

. In binoculars, the comet has the appearance of a green, unresolved

globular cluster A globular cluster is a spheroidal conglomeration of stars. Globular clusters are bound together by gravity, with a higher concentration of stars towards their centers. They can contain anywhere from tens of thousands to many millions of membe ...

. C/2013 R1 made its closest approach to Earth on 19 November 2013 at a distance of , and reached an

apparent magnitude Apparent magnitude () is a measure of the brightness of a star or other astronomical object observed from Earth. An object's apparent magnitude depends on its intrinsic luminosity, its distance from Earth, and any extinction of the object's ...

of about 4.5. On 27 November 2013 the comet was in the constellation of

Canes Venatici Canes Venatici () is one of the 88 constellations designated by the International Astronomical Union (IAU). It is a small northern constellation that was created by Johannes Hevelius in the 17th century. Its name is Latin for 'hunting dogs', and ...

, near the bottom of the handle of the

Big Dipper The Big Dipper ( US, Canada) or the Plough ( UK, Ireland) is a large asterism consisting of seven bright stars of the constellation Ursa Major; six of them are of second magnitude and one, Megrez (δ), of third magnitude. Four define a "bowl" ...

. From 28 November until 4 December 2013, the comet was in the constellation Boötes. On 1 December 2013 it passed the star Beta Boötis. From 4 December until 12 December 2013, the comet was in the constellation

Corona Borealis Corona Borealis is a small constellation in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere. It is one of the 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, and remains one of the 88 modern constellations. Its brightest stars form a se ...

. From 12 December until 14 January 2014, the comet was in the constellation

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

. On 14 December 2013, it passed the star Zeta Herculis. The comet came to

perihelion An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. For example, the apsides of the Earth are called the aphelion and perihelion. General description There are two apsides in any elli ...

(closest approach to the Sun) on 22 December 2013 at a distance of from the Sun. At perihelion, the comet had an elongation of 51 degrees from the Sun. By September 2014, the comet had fainted to magnitude 18.

References

External links

Elements and Ephemeris for C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy)
– Minor Planet Center
Comet Lovejoy Over a Windmill
(

APOD Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD) is a website provided by NASA and Michigan Technological University (MTU). According to the website, "Each day a different image or photograph of our universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written ...

: 9 December 2013) {{DEFAULTSORT:Lovejoy, 2013 R1 2013R01 20131222 201401 * 20130907