According to contributing editor John Bortle, Comet Hale-Bopp is a very obvious naked-eye object low in the eastern sky before dawn, looking like a soft version of the nearby star Zeta Aquilae. On January 17th, Bortle pegged the comet at magnitude 2.7, and through binoculars he saw a degree-long tail curving sharply to the northwest. The nucleus looks quite intense and starlike with traces of jet structure. Here are Comet Hale-Bopp's equinox 2000.0 coordinates for this week at 0 hours Universal Time:
R.A. (2000) Decl.
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January 18 19h 10.8m + 9d 43'
20 19 14.6 +10 26
22 19 18.5 +11 11
24 19 22.6 +12 58
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