Star gazing

It's just before sunrise and a brisk 45 degrees (7c) out here on the deck. 
Brrrrr....

I was pretty excited to see comet C-2023 last night. If you haven't seen it yet it is still visible in the western sky just after sunset. I started looking for it a little bit too early, when the sky was still too bright with the fading light. I guess I'd suggest about an hour after sunset. The comet is pretty low to the horizon so you won't have a lot of time once the sky is dark enough.

Here's John's quick guide to finding it:
Once nearly all of the sunlight has faded from the horizon, locate Venus. It will be the bright "star" in the western sky. You'll be able to see it well before the sky is completely dark and it might be a good idea to find it early. Once you've found Venus, look to the right (north) about two spread hand's widths and slightly higher -- 2 o'clockish if Venus is the clock center. There you'll find the next brightest stars on the horizon (Arcturus). At the halfway point between Venus and Arcturus is where you'll find the comet. 
The comet and relatively long tail are pretty faint but still visible to the naked eye. The comet will be closest to the horizon and the tail will be up and to the left (11 0'clock).
Good luck!

I also saw a shooter (meteor) last night. We're just after the Taurids and just before the Orionids so you may see a stray while you are star gazing this week. The Orionids peak between midnight and 4 am on Monday morning. The moon will be bright and inhibit viewing but it should still be a good shower.

I hate watching the summer constellations fade and the winter constellations appearing in the night sky. The winter sky is magnificent, but it is often too cold to enjoy. The Scorpion is setting just after sunset and it is taking the Milky Way with it. 
Sacrebleu!
The winter sky points us away from the center of the galaxy and looks to its outer regions. There are bright stars, magnificent constellations, and other galaxies to view in the winter sky. I sometimes think I should get a better telescope than the beginner scope I bought more than three decades ago. The cosmos are simply fascinating to me.
To be honest, I also find the earth and its slowly changing landscape and not so slowly changing atmosphere and climate to be equally as fascinating. I probably should have stayed in school and studied the earth and the cosmos, but then I would have had a very different life and I'm pretty happy with the way this one has turned out, so...
I guess I'll keep reading and learning and simply enjoying life as it is.

Let me know if you see the comet. If you miss it this time around, you can catch it again in about 80,000 years!

John