James Adamson from Co. Mayo was the first person in Ireland to report seeing Comet NEAT (C/2001 Q4) as it entered our skies. On Saturday May 8 he spotted it low down on the Western horizon using 10x50 binoculars. Others have since reported seeing it too. The comet has rushed in to evening skies and is now an easy target and will soon become circumpolar (i.e. visible all night). I didn't get my first sighting until last night (May 13) and I was quite impressed even though it didn't clear up until quite late by which time the comet was only 10 degrees up in the West. From a site near Ashbourne (13km from Dublin city centre where skies are dark, but still a bit compromised by the lights of the capital) I could see a 3 degree long tail and a huge head (admittedly in a pair of our 25x100 giant binoculars!) It was a nice sight too in our 10x50 wide angle binoculars with the Beehive star cluster (M44) above the comet, both in the same field of view (6 degrees apart last night, but only 3 degrees tonight! - see map on page 33 of May issue). Darker skies will improve the view of the comet even more. Internationally the comet is reported (in dark skies) at magnitude 3.0 and has a head 20' wide with two tails, 7 degrees and 2 degrees long. The comet was too low by the time I saw it to see it with the naked-eye but others in Ireland, viewing earlier in reasonably dark skies should now be able to see it with the naked-eye. Let us know, especially as it lies near the Beehive this weekend (if you have a telescope or binoculars note how close the comet gets to the star Delta in Cancer tonight at 11pm!). Please keep sending those observations to observe@astronomy.ie and check out all the details in the May issue article. ===== David Moore, Astronomy Ireland (your club and magazine). Tel (01) 847 0777 www.astronomy.ie info@astronomy.ie VISIT IRELAND'S ONLY ASTRONOMY SHOP THIS WEEKEND and stock up for the Venus Transit and Comet watching www.astronomy.ie/map.html