Bright Comet Appears on Christmas Day~~According to Dr. Harlow Shapley, director of the Harvard observatory, the brightest comet visible in the northern hemisphere in the past 15 years will appear in the early evening, western sky, during Christmas week.
It is said that the comet will be clearly visible to the naked eye, and on Christmas day will be about 45 degrees between the sun and the north pole. After December 18, it should be easily visible to the naked eye, just after sunset, in a position just north of the sun.
It is Skjellerup's comet, discovery of which at Melbourne, Australia, by F.J. Skjellerup, an amateur astronomer, who formerly lived in South Africa, was made known on December 4. It then was reported on third magnitude, but the observatory at Lapiata, Argentina, two days later sent word of an observation of what was supposed to be the same comet, and described it as of the second magnitude.
You can read a bit more about this comet by clicking on the bolded and underlined Skjellerup's comet above, which will take you to wikipedia.
The above informational article was found in the local newspaper. Makes one wonder if anyone in this area stepped outside on a cold winter's night to look skyward, and was able to see the comet streaking across the sky.
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