The Comet McNaught show took a dramatic leap into the history books today when the ball of ice and dust became visible during the day. Observers report seeing the comet, which is very close to the Sun, by blocking the Sun’s glare with a house.

“It’s fantastic,” said Wayne Winch of Bishop, California on the website Spaceweather.com. “I put the sun behind a neighbor’s house to block the glare and the comet popped right into view. You can even see the tail!”

IMPORTANT: Do not look directly at the Sun. It will damage your eyes. Especially do not look at the Sun through binoculars or a telescope.

I saw the comet (finally!) from the outskirts of Phoenix just after sunset. It was barely above the horizon — about two fingers-width on an outstretched arm. The tail was clearly visible in low-power (7×25) binoculars. It looked to be about as bright as Venus but it was mired in the atmosphere closer to the horizon so is likely brighter than Venus. Tomorrow I’ll try to spot it during the daytime. (Venus is sometimes visible in the daytime if you know where to look.)

See our Viewer’s Guide to spot McNaught in the sky or on the Web.