Fickle comet Lulin makes millennial passing

Found this on Newsday.com

Comet C/2007 N3, aka comet Lulin, is an icy remnant from the primordial solar system that on Feb. 23 will pass within 38 million miles of Earth.

Just how bright it becomes, however, is anyone’s guess. Comets are notoriously fickle. They can flare up unexpectedly, or fizzle and go totally unnoticed by the average stargazer. As noted comet hunter David Levy likes to say: “Comets are like cats. They both have tails and they both do what they want!”

Right now, comet Lulin is drifting across our midnight sky and you can see it if you know just where to look. Your best bet will be to observe from a dark, un-light-polluted wilderness area. Scan your binoculars in the region of the comet and, when you spot something that appears like a faint, fuzzy star with a stubby tail, you’ve found it! …

Within only days, it will become even brighter and begin to slip into the early evening sky. On the night of Feb. 23, it will pass slightly southwest of Saturn. Now the comet will be moving at about 5 degrees per day - fast enough for stargazers observing through binoculars or small telescopes to actually notice within minutes its drift against more distant stars.

For some who consider the stars as part of the abode of the Gods, Lulin can be interpreted as a sign for disaster.

You have been warned.