FEB 16, 2004 - Comet C/2002 T7 is the official designation for Comet Linear, which is now brightening in the sky as it heads towards its May 19 closest approach to Earth. By then, it's expected to be a naked eye comet, brighter than a first magnitude star if current estimates pan out. But you'll have to be in the southern hemisphere to catch a glimpse of Comet Linear then. Meanwhile, those of us in the northern hemisphere can view the comet through a small backyard telescope now, not far from Venus in the western sky after sunset. Comet C/2002 T7, part of Gary Kronk's fine Cometography website, provides details of the comet's discovery, as well as some excellent photographs of C/2002 T7. A daily astronomical ephemeris for Comet Linear is available at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
