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Comet ISON update!

JB80

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Crimson Sunset

Crimson Sunset

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I found ISON quite easily using Stellarium to note the pattern of stars around Spica. Despite that irritating moonlight it was obvious in 8.5x44 bins and I managed to track it for 20 minutes or so into the twilight before losing both the comet and the circulation in every extremity! Also saw a nice bright sporadic meteor, Mercury (but no Encke :sad:) and a good ISS pass so a good morning all round.

ISON's alright but it's no Lovejoy. :grin:

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goodricke1

goodricke1

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I found ISON quite easily using Stellarium to note the pattern of stars around Spica. Despite that irritating moonlight it was obvious in 8.5x44 bins and I managed to track it for 20 minutes or so into the twilight before losing both the comet and the circulation in every extremity! Also saw a nice bright sporadic meteor, Mercury (but no Encke :sad:) and a good ISS pass so a good morning all round.

ISON's alright but it's no Lovejoy. :grin:

Yes, that report sums up my thoughts also, I was actually quite surprised how dark the background sky still was when it first became visible.

Quite obvious cometary appearance in the 15x70s, but as you say the nucleus less bright than Lovejoy. Speaking of which, the latter kept me company while I waited for ISON, and I was amazed by its speed against the background stars even over the course of one night's observation.

Also thought I may have spotted Linear with averted vision close to Arcturus but can't be sure... still, 2½ comets in one night is deffo a record for me :grin:

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leader of the starry skys

leader of the starry skys

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I see that http://www.mps.mpg.de/en/aktuelles/pressenotizen/pressenotiz_20131119.html says that the comet may well be fragmenting

 i don't think they really know at the moment what the hells happening to it, one minute its fragmenting , next its ok ,  saw a photo the other day showing what appeared to be fragmenting, then saw a more recent one showing no wings , and reckoning the fragments had come off and its still in one piece, i have given up after today of trying to get a look at it, ive been getting excited then knocked down to many times by this comet , i think its just a case of wait to see if it comes out the other side

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DaveGarland

DaveGarland

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i don't think they really know at the moment what the hells happening to it, one minute its fragmenting , next its ok , saw a photo the other day showing what appeared to be fragmenting, then saw a more recent one showing no wings , and reckoning the fragments had come off and its still in one piece, i have given up after today of trying to get a look at it, ive been getting excited then knocked down to many times by this comet , i think its just a case of wait to see if it comes out the other side

Yes me too. Three nights of standing on a muddy hill in the dark with wild animals giving me the heebeegeebees just to see nothing of it while a very apparent Lovejoy has been right above me is enough this side of its solar pass. I remember being so excited seeing Panstarrs and looking forward to Ison. Now I'm just hoping I'll see Ison at all. Let's hope it puts on a show in December.

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astronymonkey

astronymonkey

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I set my alarm for 5.30 but never heard it til 6.30 ! Anyway this meant that ISON had risen above the houses but I was just a bit too late and couldnt see it with 20x80s. Anyway 12 x 30sec shots with 9 darks resulted in Deep Sky Stacker saying only one frame will stack !!!

What a waste of a decent clear sky but I managed to see it about 3 weeks ago so will be waiting for the early december show.

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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I managed Lovejoy (see sketch) but Ison too low for my garden easterly view. if clear tomorrow a.m. might wander to the park with bins.

Lovejoy is obvious even in small bins (7x36s) and is almost overhead near Leo Minor at about 6am. The astigmatism in my stars originates from my pen by the way!

post-5119-0-72481000-1384901590_thumb.jp

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Ptarmigan

Ptarmigan

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Any meteor showers at the moment? Saw more than normal.

and I said : Yes, the Leonids, peaked sat/sun 16/17 !

By the way,

be advised that you have just independently discovered your first meteor shower,

similar to like I did some years ago : I discovered a comet !

Yep, true, it was a fine thing, new to me,

trouble is that some characters Hale? and Bopp ? had found it some months before LOL!

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steveb1977

steveb1977

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Is that Spica above the comet?

If it is I might have just glimpsed it yesterday as that is where I think I managed to see it. Stellerium had it in a slightly different place.

I was up early to catch it this morning from the obs, but was most annoyed to find that shortly after rising it disappears behind my house, and most of the time before then was obscured by trees! I could just make it out with 8x32 binos.

Here's an animation of 10 x 1 minute unguided exposures through the trees just before it disappeared behind the house. The core seems to be very bright, and you can see how rapidly it has moved in relation to the nearby stars over just 10 minutes. Canon 450d, 250mm f/4.7 Newtonian.

ison_2013_11_19a.gif

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lukebl

lukebl

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Is that Spica above the comet?

If it is I might have just glimpsed it yesterday as that is where I think I managed to see it. Stellerium had it in a slightly different place.

No, that's just a humble 7.7 magnitude star, SAO 158069! It's quite a narrow field of view, and Spica was a long way off the field of view.

Actually that star isn't so humble at all. Apparently it's a yellow-orange giant with a luminosity 46 times the sun and about 720 light-years distant (So says Sky Safari Pro)

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andrew63

andrew63

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Had a quick peek this morning but cloud.  According to Sky and Telescope, Ison will also be visible in early December shortly after sunset for northern latitudes, but will still be better placed before dawn.   For those who saw Comet Panstarrs low in the west, should be worth a try.  Also saw that even if it splits up, it could still  have a prominent tail, so still could be a fine sight.

andrew

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Cygnus_X1

Cygnus_X1

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One of the reasons I love Stellarium ( free and very realistic planetarium software ) is that it shows exactly where ISON will be around perihelion. It is just about possible that it may be visible in broad daylight, below the sun, in the evening of November 28th. People should obviously be careful not to look directly at the sun. The comet rapidly does a circle round the sun, and by the following morning ( November 29th) is in a position of about 10.30 o'clock relative to the sun....about 3 degrees from the sun. The ephemeride predicts magnitude -2.15 at this time. The comet tself may not be visible, but the tail may in fact rise some time before the comet does....rather like comet West in 1976. That is the time I am really looking forward to.

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goodricke1

goodricke1

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Seems to be a shortage of ISON reports this morning and I'm not surprised... I probably saw it as a star-like point in the correct position, but certainly less obvious than 2 mornings ago... the ever-brightening background sky seems to be drowning out any possible outburst, albeit Mercury then shone forth from an even lower position - ISON will need a pretty major increase if its going to worth looking at again before perihelion.

But Lovejoy was a compensation, if anything it seems to have increased in scale - it literally jumped out in the 15x70s despite powerful nearby moonlight.

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