Comet Elenin

I've been reading a little bit on Comet Elenin. The comet (formally known as C/2010 X1) was discovered back in Dec. 2010 by a Russian astronomer named Leonid Elenin. What's interesting is that it will pass about 0.23 AU (21.37 million miles) of Earth in mid-October 2011 (1 AU (92.96 million miles) is the distance between the Sun and the Earth). That should mean that we should get a really good look at it. What's more, there is a possibility that the Earth may actually pass through the tail debris, which should produce a mini-meteor shower.

According to a website that tracks comets, Elenin will be tracking through Virgo and Leo at it's closest approach. Unfortunately according to star maps, in mid-October Leo will be setting where I live around 6:30 PM which means that the sun will still be up. So my best chance to see it will probably be in mid to late September when it is still tracking in Virgo. Virgo doesn't set until around 7 PM in late September and closer to 8 PM in mid-September. At this time of year, the comet will be about 0.45 AU (41.83 million miles).