What a show! I stepped outside on the back deck to see if the comet would be visible through the darkening twilight. The view wasn't what I expected. A thin crescent Moon hung low over Flagstaff with the remaining Earth-facing side illuminated by earthshine. Venus blazed near the horizon and a bright flare-like object was rising slowly through the sky right above the goddess of love. This flare was surrounded by an irregular misty glow. It was a rocket launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. I followed the rocket's rise with my 10X50 binoculars and, after the burn stopped, watched as the exhaust plume slowly dissipated. Remembering my initial reason for stepping outside, I pointed the binocs at Aries, swung toward the horizon and Eta Piscium, and saw the comet about a degree from Eta.

When astronomical twilight finally ended, I went back outside. Ikeya-Zhang was visible to the naked eye 1.5 degrees west-northwest of Eta Piscium. The view in my 10X50's is presented in the sketch at left. The drawing is oriented with north to the upper right. The comet features a bright elongated core region embedded within a blue-white coma. This is positioned 24' due south of 7.0 magnitude HD 8626. The dust tail can be followed to the east-northeast toward Beta and Gamma Arietis for a distance of four degrees under direct scrutiny. With averted vision, the tail can be traced another three degrees. The plasma tail appears as a feathered south edge along the dust tail. Sixty-one stars are shown in the sketch, including Eta Piscium, to the upper left of the comet, and Beta and Gamma Arietis, at the top of the field.