verreli

On 21/04/2024 at 10:03, Taman said:

I've just seen an image on Astrobin, it already has a nice tail.

 

That's a strong tail for a comet so far out.  Very promising.  I just happen to be in South Africa in September when it should be naked eye visible and have booked my flight seat so I can see it from altitude.  I have a good feeling about this one.  Lots still to find out.  What colour will it be?  Will it be twin tailed?  If the projection in Stellarium is anywhere near accurate, it's going to be an amazing sight.

A catchy name for what could be a great comet.  Predicted and on track to be better than mag 0 with a boost after perihelion due to forward scattering making the core daylight visible.  Best from the southern hemisphere in September before dawn and northern hemishere in October after sunset.  May have a big bright tail making it awesome for photos.  Watch this space.

Currently Mag 5.5 and heading towards Mag 3.3 at closest approach on 12 Sept (1 week today).  Not much of a dust tail though.

Could hit mag 2 in the next month which would be naked eye from dark sky sites.  Morning object.  Currently mag 8.5 but brightening fast.

Forecast last night was for clear sky's so climbed a local hill to get a view.  It was fully overcast when I got to the summit but after an hour, thankfully, it cleared.  Neo is still naked eye visible but barely so now.  Also had NLC's for an added bonus.  I can't see NEO lasting much longer and the best is definitely behind us.

4 hours ago, HollyHound said:

Few clouds moved away by the time the sun set here and treated to lovely clear sky, but yes it did seem to take a good while longer to become visible, compared to last Sunday. It also didn’t seem quite as brilliantly bright either... still superbly fantastic and I still love that it’s visible to the naked eye 😃

Same observation for me last night.  It's still naked eye visible but very much on the wane.  Get it while you can.  This weekend may be its swan song and be a technical object thereafter.

The way you describe it, it sounds slow for a meteor.  Could it have been a satellite burning up on re-entry?

Got an unexpected clear night last night.  Neo is now an easy naked eye object.  The tail seems to be getting longer and the ion tail is separating from the dust tail.  Too bright this far north for any resolution in my images though.  Saturday night is also looking good if it can maintain its magnitude and it should be a bit darker for extra contrast.  Happy days.

Thwarted again by cloud cover in the North West.  Did see Neo again between cloud banks, albeit briefly.

I hope the weather forecast is going to be right; reality is that it's still cloudy.

The UK met office was on form.  Forecast was for clear sky's but got 90% cloud cover.  However... the 10% revealed Neo, albeit briefly as it went in and out of cloud.  WOW.  No binoculars needed.  The tail was easily naked eye and bagged the trophy photo I wanted.  Very happy and may even get another window tonight.  This will be remembered for a long time !

The wait is almost over.  After incessant wind, rain and cloud cover, tonight's the night and with no work tomorrow, it looks like it's going to be an all nighter.  Neo should be visible from just after sunset to just before sunrise.  Looking at the forecast, this may be the only chance to see it from this location.

Really pleased so many astronomy enthusiasts are getting to see this rare sight.  Up here in the North West it was raining at 3am and the earliest I'll get a weather window is next Saturday morning.  Praying to the astronomy gods that it doesn't fizzle out by then.  Keep the reports coming.

Anecdotally,  NEO has appeared to be a difficult but achievable naked eye object so far.  It's fading but moving to darker more contrasty sky's.  Through binoculars with the extra light gathering potential it seems to be easy.  Find a suitable horizon and a clear patch of weather and all should be good.  Best wishes.

32 minutes ago, kerrylewis said:

What can possibly go wrong? 😀

Climbing ladders while half asleep in the dark while looking through binoculars.  No, all good.

The way the head was developing, it suggested it could break into two distinct heads - that being an unusual increase in brightness, twin plumes and a darkness mid core.  Let's just call it wild internet speculation based on limited data.  I think the NASA pic you just posted blows that theory out.  The nucleus looks solid and healthy and gives me confidence it should survive a couple of weeks until I get darker sky's.  I may even get a break from the 100% overcast cloud, rain and wind I'm currently enjoying.

3 minutes ago, HaleBopp2007 said:

Also, there are many images from the ISS. 

Now that's just showing off !

Very nice picture.  It may be another decade or so when we get another good comet so make the most of the next couple of weeks.  I was out in the rain today checking out locations with a low north east horizon.  There's surprisingly few within a reasonable distance.  Things get better in a week though as it gets a bit higher.

One thing of note from the photos I've seen so far is that they typically use long lenses of around 500mm so Neo is small but there are few other stars visible so it is very bright.  In a weeks time when we have more contrast, the fainter parts of the tail should be visible.

I'm also interested in the look of the head.  Could Neo have another surprise in store?

2 minutes ago, matt_baker said:

Will we be able to see it from the UK?

Yes, assuming clear sky's although wait a few days for better views.  Tomorrow, from Derby, it will be 2 degrees above the horizon at 3:15 North East but quickly consumed by dawn.  By the 11th it will have climbed to 11 degrees at the same time and be North North-East.  At 1am, the darkest part of night it will be 6 degrees above the horizon, due North.  Obviously the comet is now dimming, question, how fast?  I'd be looking sooner rather than later.

Interesting picture.  That looks like a broad dust tail rather than a twin tail.  Almost like a wide fissure has opened up.  It's consistent with other pictures and views but we're now seeing more detail.

I did a quick lookup for mid Florida.  It's at 10 degrees with a small viewing window before dawn light overwhelms the comet.  Unfortunately it doesn't seem to get much better as the days roll on.  The positive is that the head will be visible with the tail pointing up.

I think a fan tail is caused by a bright gritty comet, i.e. one releasing lots of particles and leaving a debris trail as it changes direction at a perihelion close to the sun.  Neo is only at perihelion today so perhaps a fan will develop?  Also the comet composition makes a difference.  If it's predominantly made of CO2, water, methane, ammonia and other elements that will vaporise, it will develop an ion tail in addition to the dust tail but the dust tail is less likely to be prominent.

My guess based on the previously seen green coma and twin tails is that Neo is composed of more frozen gasses than grit so we won't see a fan but will see a distinct twin tail like Hale Bopp.  I want to take some landscape photographs with the comet prominent in the sky so would like a long bright tail.  My guess here is that I'll be disappointed because I don't think it's releasing much dust to cause a long relatively dense debris trail.

I thought it was much shorter until looking it up on wikipedia.  It states 'As it passed perihelion on April 1, 1997, the comet developed into a spectacular sight. It shone brighter than any star in the sky except Sirius, and its dust tail stretched 40–45 degrees across the sky.'  I think it was comet mcnaught that had the really  spectacular tail though.

If Neo was 15 degrees, I'd be happy.  I have a possible weather window on Tuesday 7th at dawn.  Camera is ready.

The next big question for me is 'how big is the tail in dark skies?'  I'd hope for 10 degrees or more.  Looking at the image posted above it looks very similar to Hale Bopp in appearance.  Hale Bopp's dust tail was 40 degrees.  One can only hope for something similar.