[PPRAANet] Comet I-Z Alert

[W0rw@aol.com]

i saw the Ikeya-Zhang Comet tonight from Colo. Springs. 
i have a very poor western horizon here because of the mountains but as soon 
as Venus disappeared below the hills, i was able to see the Comet. It was 
about 20 degrees above the horizon and in a northwest direction.
(The equatorial coordinates were about 1h 12min  and  +34 degrees R.A.)
That was Thursday night 3/28/02, at 7:15 pm MST, As it got darker and the 
view of the Comet got better. 
At 7:30 pm i could see a 2 degree tail with my 10 x 50 binoculars. 
i was unable to see it with the unaided eye from the city.
The light pollution from all of the porch lights and street lights really 
blank out the comets tail. It faded into some high cirrus clouds by 8 pm.
There are some really nice pictures of the Comet on the JPL web site at:
http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/index.html
There is a weather and visibility predictor for this area on my web site at 
http://www.LBO.teuton.org
Paul  w0rw