PDA

View Full Version : Binocular comet in the sky tonight

Bill
10-13-2006, 05:55 PM
Comet SWAN is going to be at it's brightest tonight, near the big dipper, not so visible to the naked eye but perfect for good binocs or small telescopes.

http://skytonight.com/observing/ataglance/3304101.html

Should be a sight.
Linkster
10-13-2006, 08:27 PM
Will be checking it out and see if I can get a good picture to post :)
Linkster
10-13-2006, 10:56 PM
Well - tried but its too low on the horizon for me with the trees I have out here :)
Bill
10-13-2006, 11:46 PM
I'm pretty sure I found it. The tail wasn't very bright, in fact, I can't say for sure I was seeing a tail at all. But, I found a nice little fussy spot, slightly bluish to my eyes, above and to the left of a distinctive double star formation, which had the look of other comets I've watched.

If you took the diameter of the nearest large star in that double star as 1, it was about 3 diameters wide and 5.5 diameters long, a nice little glowing fuzzy oval.

Very distinctively different from everything around it. I'll look for it tomorrow night and if it's moved, I'll know that was the comet.

I just love seeing shit like that, even if it didn't look very comety at the magnification I was using - it reaffirms my faith in the universe, to witness with my own eyes raw physics and cosmology in action. A cold and ancient visitor to the warm center of our gravity well. So fuckin' sweet!

This was the best map for finding it...

http://spaceweather.com/images2006/13oct06/skymap_north.gif
Bill
10-14-2006, 10:44 PM
Yep, that was it. The fuzzy spot had moved considerably, 2 or 3 degrees upwards and a degree to the left. It was smaller and whiter, and thru binocs I could make out very faintly, very faintly, a narrow tail.

Such a little thing to see, too small to see with the eyes alone, but it gives me a real feeling of accomplishment to have been able to find it and watch it move across the starfield.

Way cool.
Linkster
10-15-2006, 12:45 AM
I tried again tonight right at dusk when the big dipper was a little higher in the sky but the light from sundown was too much - then it slipped too far down on the horizon again - oh well - will try again this morning if I can get up at 4 and we get a good rotation on the star field