Space Museum's "A Night with Comet and Jupiter" cancelled

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The Hong Kong Space Museum's "Sidewalk Astronomy - A Night with Comet and Jupiter", originally scheduled for this Friday (May 7), has been cancelled to make way for "A Symphony of Lights" currently on show at Victoria Harbour.

"Members of the public can still go to a place dark enough with an unblocked view towards the southwest if they do not want to miss the comet on that night," a Hong Kong Space Museum spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the Space Museum, Hong Kong Astronomical Society, Sky Observers' Association (HK) and Space Observers HK will continue to set up telescopes at the podium of Hong Kong Museum of Art, 10 Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui next Monday (May 10) for observation of Jupiter and attempt to locate the comet between 7.45pm and 9pm. Success depends on the actual brightness of the comet and the weather conditions. The public is welcome to join and will be admitted in groups. Admission is free.

Two comets - C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) and C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) - will appear in Hong Kong in May, and the best observation time will be around May 7 and the last 10 days of May respectively. Both comets will also make their appearance simultaneously from around May 22.

Observation of the comets may not be easy due to their dimness. People can nevertheless choose a site away from the city light and with an unobstructed view towards the southwest (such as southern Hong Kong Island or western New Territories) for a better view. The comets can be seen with the naked eye or with binoculars.

The public can also visit Space Museum's "Interactive Star Map" website at
http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Space/
StarShine/Starmap/e_starshine_starmap.htm
for information of the exact locations of the two comets.

For enquiries, please call 2721 0226.

Ends/Tuesday, May 4, 2004

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