Amateur astronomer discovers comet

SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. -- Amateur stargazer Doug Snyder had spent days scanning the skies with his 20-inch reflector telescope hoping to find something new when he happened upon "a little gray smudge."

The little smudge proved to be a big deal: It was a new comet.

The Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams -- the Harvard University-affiliated clearinghouse for new discoveries -- confirmed Tuesday that Snyder was the first person to sight the comet Monday as it streaked through the constellation Aquila in the heart of the Summer Milky Way, which is a specific section of the Milky Way galaxy.

A Japanese amateur astronomer, Shigeki Murakami, sighted the comet a few hours later and is considered a co-discoverer.

The find was dubbed Comet Snyder-Murakami.

"It's been a whirlwind couple of days," Snyder told the Sierra Vista Herald.

Snyder said that after sighting the smudge early Monday, he did some research using a sky atlas and numerous databases, but couldn't locate any references to his find. He checked the comet's location again.