Weather clouds Cape comet-watchers' view
January 16 2007 at 03:06PM
Local comet watchers will be out again tonight searching for Comet McNaught after last night's viewing - expected to be the best of the week - was dashed by cloud and drizzle in most areas of the Peninsula.
But some lucky Sea Point watchers were rewarded by a short break in the weather. One of them was Bub Evans, who said the comet had been "clearly visible for about 10 minutes before it went behind the clouds again".
"Watching through binoculars, it was brilliant!" she said.
Tonight's viewing should be uninterrupted: the Cape Town weather office's forecast at 5am was "party cloudy, becoming fine, no rain".
The comet is named after Australian astronomer R H McNaught, who observed it for the first time through a telescope at Siding Spring, Australia, on August 7 last year.
It should still be visible in the local sky until Friday, although it is expected to fade each night.
Dave Laney of the SA Astronomical Observatory explained that the comet was very close to the sun and set early, so would only be visible for a short period after sunset from a spot with a totally unobstructed western horizon.
o This article was originally published on page 6 of Cape Argus on January 16, 2007
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