Sunday night best time to see Comet Catalina

If sky watchers can brave the cold, Sunday night is going to be the best time to see comet Catalina pass by earth.

The comet will be at its closest to the planet, at about 108,000,000 kilometres, according to Gary Boyle, also known as The Backyard Astronomer. The comet is getting more and more faint as it travels away through space.

The best way to see the comet is getting away from light pollution and grabbing a pair of binoculars.

“To (be able to) see the object with binoculars is just a treat. Because we don’t really get the bright comets,” said Boyle.

The comet can be found in the handle of the big dipper constellation. And because the big dipper never sets in North American skies, Boyle said it’s visible all night long. Though he said the best time for photographing the comet is around 5 a.m.

Regina’s sky is supposed to be only partly cloudy with a few flurries on Sunday night, but wind chills are forecast to dip into the -40 C range again.

<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Comet Catalina now seen all night from Canadian skies. Look near end star of the Big Dipper. Use binoculars. <a href=”https://t.co/6vC0J02XTE”>pic.twitter.com/6vC0J02XTE</a></p>&mdash; Gary Boyle (@astroeducator) <a href=”https://twitter.com/astroeducator/status/687722756981522434″>January 14, 2016</a></blockquote>
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