Lulin comet makes one-time only visit toward the sun

Updated Tue. Feb. 17 2009 7:16 PM ET

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON -- An odd, greenish backward-flying comet is zipping by Earth this month, as it takes its only trip toward the sun from the farthest edges of the solar system.

The comet is called Lulin, and there's a chance it can be seen with the naked eye -- far from city lights, astronomers say. But you'll most likely need a telescope, or at least binoculars, to spot it. The best opportunity is just before dawn one-third of the way up the southern sky. It should be near Saturn and two bright stars, Spica and Regula.


http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090217/rare_comet_090217/20090217?hub=SciTech


Read the rest of the article at the link.

I've been watching this comet for a month.  Here is a great pic from Feb 1.



Courtesy   APOD↔

KD,

Any idea whether the backward flying might indicate that it was not part of the original solar system, but came in later from somewhere else?

That is very cool. My life long fascination with Chemistry peeks with colors like that.
 Now why would the compound cyanogen form naturally in space? And which isotope of Carbon are they referring to in the article?

Scott,

"Backwards flying" refers to its orbit, ie. retrograde.  The planets orbit Sol counterclockwise as seen from the solar north pole, the comet is coming in "orbiting" in the opposite direction.  Comets like this get kicked out of the Oort cloud usually by the gravitational pull of the outer gas giants.

Get a pair of binoculars and look for it, it should be quite visible about 2 degrees above Saturn in 10 days.

From APOD: