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Panstarrs : how visible is it at the moment (14 march)

tenbyfifty

By tenbyfifty
in The Astro Lounge

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tenbyfifty

tenbyfifty

Posted
Posted

I'm a bit confused about how visible comet Panstarrs is at the moment.

I've seen recent photos from uk & california of quite an obvious naked eye object but last

night was nice and clear and i couldn't see anything even in bins. i was looking

towards the crescent moon around 7-7.30 pm.

should i have seen something?

pix here

http://www.dailymail...o=feeds-newsxml

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bob1957

bob1957

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Hi tenbyfifty, last night PanSTARRS was located slightly to the right of the crescent Moon and roughly midway between the Moon and the horizon. Depending on where you were by 7pm it should have been visible through bins. I was able to locate it by 7.05pm through 7x50 bins but I was quite high up with very little light pollution with viewing improving as the sky darkened. By 7.15pm I could just make it out as a naked eye object, but by then my eyes had adjusted to the darkness and obviously I was aware of where the comet was. Viewing reduced by 7.27pm as the comet was obscured by cloud low on the horizon where I was.

The comet may not be easily visible tonight as Cartes du Ciel shows it as lower on the horizon at 7pm (about 7 deg above the horizon). Again it will be to the right of the Moon by about 10 degrees (probably the easiest way would be to imagine a 60 degree slope from the Moon to the horizon and the comet should be there just above the horizon).

Hope you have more success tonight, weather permitting.

All the best, Bob :laugh:

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greglloyd

greglloyd

Posted
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Remember that camera sensors are more sensitive than the naked eye and the photos are 1 sec or more exposures generally. They make the comet appear far more obvious than it actually is. It is barely visible to the eye (I could only see it in binos from a good sky here last night). Most people may never see it naked eye actually as although it will climb it will also be dimming all the time. It will be a good bino object over the next few weeks though.

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Bart

Bart

Posted
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I saw it quite clearly last night about 6* above horizon, about one fist height above the horizon. I got it in 10x50s. Lovely and clear, with good visible tail. Just wait till the Sun drops and look to the west roughly where the sun went dowm. I used skysafari to locate it. All the family got a look. Lovely.

Barry

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Stargazer33

Stargazer33

Posted
Posted

Hi tenbyfifty,

To give you an idea of how feint it is, have a look at this thread I started yesterday.

I posted the pics of the Moon as I hadn't seen the comet and thought the Earthshine on the Moon was pretty neat. Only after looking at other members pictures of the comet last night did I realise that I had that patch of sky in my first picture. I zoomed in on the frame in Photoshop and changed the brightness, contrast and levels and sure enough down in the right hand corner was the comet - see the later pictures in the post.

From this it is definitely NOT the naked eye comet that was predicted. Bins or a telescope to see this one now.

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pajr777

pajr777

Posted
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This is the view from Barrow Wake scenic lookout point near Cheltenham. On a good day you can see the Severn Bridge and the Black Mountains in Wales. You can see low cloud on the horizon and a strong after glow.

post-21894-0-00572400-1363278933_thumb.j

The comet was not naked eye visible, but using the moon as a reference I panned slightly right and then slowly down with my 10x50 bins and found the comet. It was easy to make out the core and fan of the tail, averted vision made the shape even clearer.

I also took a little camera and with some 15 second exposures, when I got home I discovered I had captured the comet.

post-21894-0-50632300-1363278908_thumb.j

If I hadn't known in advance where the comet was located with reference to the moon I wouldn't have been able to spot it or photograph it.

Edit: This was last night, 13/03/2013 between 19:00 and 19:30 UTC.

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tenbyfifty

tenbyfifty

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thanks for all your replies.

i was looking to the left of the moon and i didn't realise it was so low down too.

i'm organising the demolition of opposite neighbour's house to get a better view of the horizon,

i'm sure they'll be ok with it, they're very nice people !

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pete_l

pete_l

Posted
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I spotted it tonight. I'm in Andalucia with flat horizons and a 30 mile visibility (I could see the domes of the Calar Atlo observatory some 50km away during the day. That's my indicator for good visibilty). However Panstarrs took me by surprise. I've seen other comets from the UK but I wasn't prepared for just how small, dim and down-to-earth difficult this one was.

I only picked it up in 10x50s by accident, even though I knew where to look - and it was very, very easy to lose it again. If I looked hard it was just possible, barely, to see a tiny increase in sky brightness, visibly. But to call the comet "naked eye visible" gives the impression that you could just look casually and spot it - not a chance.

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tenbyfifty

tenbyfifty

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I spotted it tonight. I'm in Andalucia with flat horizons and a 30 mile visibility (I could see the domes of the Calar Atlo observatory some 50km away during the day. That's my indicator for good visibilty). However Panstarrs took me by surprise. I've seen other comets from the UK but I wasn't prepared for just how small, dim and down-to-earth difficult this one was.

I only picked it up in 10x50s by accident, even though I knew where to look - and it was very, very easy to lose it again. If I looked hard it was just possible, barely, to see a tiny increase in sky brightness, visibly. But to call the comet "naked eye visible" gives the impression that you could just look casually and spot it - not a chance.

oh well there's still Ison to look forward to.

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bejay1957

bejay1957

Posted
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Sky was hazy-clear while leaving work, with my 15x70 bins I thought I could just see the comet as a smudge (or was it wishful thinking?) - weather forecasts suggest that was my last chance for several days :sad:

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Altair

Altair

Posted
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Stellarium gave me the impression that it should have been visible from about 6.20pm onwards last night but i didnt see it until the sky had darkened enough, around 7pm and then only through binoculars but it was still a great sight even though so tiny! could just make it out with naked eye once you knew where it was.. Looks like cloud cover for next few nights and it is now dimming slowly - the tail was longer than i expected though!

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alan potts

alan potts

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I was able to see it naked eye from Bulgaria when it was about 3-4 degree above the horizon, then a hill comes into play. I am absolutely sure though I have a sky that darken quicker with being 11 degrees further South than anywhere in Engalnd.

Had I not have seen it with Bino's an hour before there was no way I would have just noticed it.

This was on the 13th, last night a cloud with a 180 degree tail in all directions put in an appearence. Still I have just had 10 nights clear so I can't moan.

Alan.

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