JEDDAH: The Jeddah Astronomy Society (JAS) has announced that the comet Ikeya-Murakami can be seen Friday midnight until dawn Saturday morning. The comet was discovered on Nov. 3 by two amateur Japanese astronomers Kaoru Ikeya and Shigeki Murakami. Its brightness ranges between seven and nine and can be seen with a binoculars or telescope. Humans can barely see heavenly bodies at a brightness of six with the naked eye. The fact that the comet has suddenly brightened is believed to be due to it undergoing a significant outburst, when a comet becomes suddenly brighter. An outburst can occur when a chunk of the comet breaks of and is exposed to direct sunlight.
