So, you want to see the comet?

Over the next couple of weeks, it appears to move between the big and little dippers. It's closest approach is around Feb 1, but Jan 21 is a moonless night.

The brightness now is very faint, as it will be for the next couple of weeks. It's just at the edge of what a human eye can detect in perfect conditions...which basically means you can't see it. But with a small pair of binoculars, it should be easy on a clear night.

Tonight, here's how to locate it. Find the big dipper. Imagine a line from the star at the base of dipper nearest the handle, to the middle star in the handle. Extend that line two more steps in the same direction.

By the 27th and 28th, it will be almost inside the little dipper.

Orbital projections suggest that this comet will never come back. It's going to pick up just enough speed from planet gravity boosts to escape the solar system.