KhanScope proudly announces the Celestron CometWatch Campaign!

The "Year of the Comets" is officially upon us. With Comet PANSTARRS expected to appear in March, followed closely by Comet Lemmon in April and the highly anticipated Comet ISON in November, Celestron is thrilled to announce their CometWatch Campaign and Khan has lots of great information for you! Will you be ready?

By mid-March Comet PANSTARRS will become visible to observers in the Northern Hemisphere. Fresh from perihelion - its closest pass to the Sun - Comet PANSTARRS will be bright enough to be seen with the unaided eye just after sunset and low on the western horizon through the end of March. By the month of April it will have dimmed significantly and require binoculars or a small telescope to be seen. Comet PANSTARRS will continue to remain visible to average telescopes through the month of June, and be within the reach of larger telescopes through August, 2013.

Up next is Comet Lemmon. By mid-April this green visitor from the Oort Cloud will have moved into the constellation of Pisces and be visible to the majority of the Northern Hemisphere by April 19th. Located to the east along the ecliptic plane, the comet should be near unaided eye visibility, but don't delay your observations because it is located just ahead of the rising Sun. It should remain a good binocular and small telescope object through the beginning of May.

Now, all eyes are on the skies as Comet ISON makes its appearance! According to predictions, Comet C/2012 S1 ISON may very well become as bright as the Moon and could even be visible during daylight hours! Right now it is a very dim Southern Hemisphere object, but will move into northern territory by August. By November it will have sailed into the constellation of Leo and be an easy binocular object. By mid-month it will dazzle the pre-dawn skies as it heads toward the Sun and should become observing history as it dominates the morning skies in a brilliant display! From this point it will lose some magnitude each night, but should remain an unaided eye object through the end of 2013.

This year's comet experience will be one that you will want to share with your family and friends. Right now is the perfect time to begin your astronomy adventures with affordable and durable Celestron equipment. Here are some great suggestions to help you get the most from comet watching in 2013:

• Celestron AstroMaster 130 EQ Reflector Telescope ($279)
  
  
• Celestron NexStar 130 SLT Computerized Telescope ($499)
  
  
• Celestron FirstScope Reflector Telescope ($69)
  
  
• Celestron AstroMaster 70 AZ Refractor Telescope ($166)
  
  
• Celestron SkyMaster DX 8X56 Binoculars ($209)
  
  
• Celestron SkyMaster 25X100 Binoculars ($399)

Don't delay. It won't be long until these great comets will be visible in your area and high quality, affordable telescopes will be at a premium. There are many other great things you can enjoy with these telescopes as well - such as the moons and bands of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, detailed craters on the Moon, sparkling star clusters, distant galaxies and mysterious nebula! Incredible adventures await you...