* Astronomy

The magnitude 11.5 comet C/2012 C2 (Bruenjes) will pass 1.51° from the magnitude 9.2 spiral galaxy M74 in the constellation Pisces, at 06:00 UT, 18th February, 2012.

Warrensburg astronomy buff has a comet to call his own

Comet C/2012 C2 (Bruenjes) was discovered by amateur astronomer Fred Bruenjes of Warrensburg, Mo.  Bruenjes, in cooperation with the StarGarden Foundation of Warrensburg, has conducted comet-hunting imaging routines since 2009 at the ICSTARS Ranch. The comet was initially detected at 9:18 p.m. Friday.  Additional confirmation images were captured Saturday night before the comet's positional details were submitted to the IAU Minor Planet Centre for confirmation.   An electronic circular was created describing the confirmed comet Sunday. The small comet is moving slowly closer to the sun but away from Earth. Comet Bruenjes is located in the Constellation Aries, roughly 6 degrees north of Jupiter, moving westward.  A telescope will be required to view it.
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Friday, February 10th 2012 just felt like the perfect night for a comet to be discovered by an amateur astronomer. I felt really compelled to observe, as the sky conditions were perfect, the cold weather probably scared off other amateurs, and most professional observatories had been shut down by the full moon for several days. That leaves the sky wide open for new discoveries.
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