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Comet C/2013 R1 Lovejoy starts the new year as the brightest comet in the sky at around magnitude 6. In this photo taken on Dec. 31, two tails are visible. The longer one is the ion or gas tail; the broader pale yellow fan is the dust tail. Credit: Damian Peach

As 2014 opens, most of the half dozen comets traversing the morning and evening sky are faint and require detailed charts and a good-sized telescope to see and appreciate. Except for Comet Lovejoy. This gift to beginner and amateur astronomers alike keeps on giving. But wait, theres more. Three additional binocular-bright comets will keep us busy starting this spring.

Track of Comet C/2013 R1 Lovejoy in the morning sky marked at 3-day intervals shortly before the start of dawn (6 a.m. local time) tomorrow through Jan. 31. Stars shown for Dec. 29 to magnitude 5.8. Her = Hercules and Oph = Ophiuchus. Click to enlarge. Created with Chris Marriotts SkyMap software

Still glowing around the naked eye limit at magnitude 6, the Lovejoy remains easy to see in binoculars from dark skies as it tracks from southern Hercules into Ophiuchus in the coming weeks.

The best time to view the comet is shortly before the start of dawn when it sails highest in the eastern sky at an altitude of around 30 degrees or three fists up from the horizon. By Januarys end, the comet will still be 25 degrees high in a dark sky. My last encounter with Lovejoy was a week ago when 1050 binoculars revealed a bright coma and 1.5 degree long tail to the northwest. Through the telescope the stark contrast between bright, compact nucleus and gauzy coma struck me as one of the most beautiful sights Id seen all month.

Path of Comet C/2012 K1 PANSTARRS this spring when it should be a nice comet for small to medium sized telescopes. Created with Chris Marriotts SkyMap software

Looking ahead to 2014 there are at present three comets beside Lovejoy that are expected to wax bright enough to see in binoculars and possibly with the naked eye:C/2012 K1 PanSTARRS,C/2013 V5 OukaimedenandC/2013 A1 Siding SpringThe first lurks in Hercules but come early April should bulk up to magnitude 9.5, bright enough to track in a small telescope for northern hemisphere observers. Watch K1 PANSTARRS amble from Bootes across the Big Dipper and down through Leo from mid-spring through late June hitting magnitude 7.5 before disappearing in the summer twilight glow. K1 will be your go-to comet during convenient viewing hours.

Come early September after K1 PANSTARRS leaves the suns ken, it reappears in the morning sky, traveling westward from Hydra into Puppis. Southern hemisphere observers are now favored, but northerners wont suffer too badly. The comet is expected to crest to magnitude 5.5 in mid-October just before it dips too far south for easy viewing at mid-northern latitudes.

Comet Oukaimeden may glow around 8th magnitude in late August 2014 when it rises with the winter stars before dawn. Stellarium.

Original post:

Comets Prospects for 2014: A Look Into the Crystal Ball