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Comet ISON update!

JB80

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mjpfc

mjpfc

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Obs attempted From Sandown Beach with a Sea Horizon under the obs area and 10x50s/8cm short reflector.

21st, 22nd, 23rd I had good Views of Mercury and even Saturn (22/23) amongst Eastern murk and low horizon hugging cloud. 

but no Comet.

It is certainly too dim to be seen with two great markers in the sky although on all occaisions they have only cleared the murk 

when 1.5 - 2 degrees above the horizon.

Yesterday, Mercury was a good 5 degrees up from the cloud (7 from the Horizon) and Saturn a couple of full degrees before the light

got too bright to have a hope, and as the comet was supposed to be right, and only very slightly below Mercury I believe it would have

showed itself way before that if it was brightening normally.

Could it have smeared out around the 18th?

Ison may of course have remained too low this morning as it was not long after Saturn rose that the sky got brighter than those I

have previosly seen Panstars in and I believe the Comet to be level with if not below Saturn by now.

Has anyone else had any luck observing the Comet Since the 17th/18th ?

Mick

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astronymonkey

astronymonkey

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Hi mick,

its gone below next doors roofline for me and when I tried a few days back the dawn twilight meant it just wasnt visible.

Im hoping that after the 28the we will have a few days of a show shortly after sun set which will be nice being able to see it at 4.45pm . The car park at my works isnup on a bit of a hill with a good westerly horizon so ill be taking my bins and tripod in at the end of next week to see if ison is visible.

cheers

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Cygnus_X1

Cygnus_X1

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Using Stellarium...I found that after ISON swings round the sun at 18.30 on November 28th, by about 19.30 it is at an angle relative to the sun that it keeps for most of the rest of the 28th and into the 29th. That means there is about 12 hours before sunrise in which the comet is below the horizon but a good outward facing tail can form. Even if the tail material were pushed at solar wind speed of a million miles per hour or so...that would mean a tail of about 12 million miles, which would correspond to only about 6 degrees. A tail that length would start to rise above the horizon 45 minutes before sunrise on November 29th.

So there is unlikely to be a spectacularly long tail on the morning of the 29th.

By the morning of the 30th, due to change of angle relative to the sun, even a tail of 15 degrees would start to rise 2 hours before sunrise, and a 25 degree tail would start to rise 3 hours before sunrise. One can but hope !

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gpt

gpt

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Well i have just come in from trying to find Lovejoy....

I either think I've seen it, or should have seen it. Looking at the stars in stellarium AND sky safari in case i was making a mistake, i found my stars and eventual ball of fuzz! The sunflower galaxy is currently in very close proximity so at first i thought i was looking at the wrong object but either way i searched all around this object and couldn't find anything else. I expected to see more of a solid ball with a tail but i couldn't see anything else, and I'm certain i was looking in the right location with the other stars nearby at present.

Can anyone confirm if somehow i still managed to miss it!?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk HD

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andrew63

andrew63

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That's certainly Lovejoy. It does not show like a classic image with long tail - a lot are just fuzzy balls !  To me it looks like a globular cluster  -  bright in the centre and getting more diffuse. Over the next few days it will move towards M51 - should make for a fine photo opportunity.   Good job - always a thrill to see these objects.

andrew

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steveb1977

steveb1977

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A few reports about changes in the type of materials coming off the comet. Disintegration is one possibility but there are other possibilities. First time a comet like this has been studied in such detail so will have to wait and see what happens over the next few days I guess.

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The Beast

The Beast

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Too early to put any great confidence in the weather forecast but there does look like a glimmer of hope for clear skies on Friday evening (29 Dec) and Saturday morning (30 Dec). Saturday morning in particular could be good if the comet survives perihelion.

Thursday looks like it will be cloudy or foggy - not that I expect ISON will be bright enough for daytime viewing anyway. I think Friday morning will be cloudy over much of England but there could be the odd break in the clouds, we shall see.

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Paul M

Paul M

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I read the reports yesterday of certain molecular emissions having dropped off precipitously.

One glimmer of hope is that all the negativity seems to be based on one particular observer/observation.

One link above simple stating that "online reports" say such and such. Not a new observation but hearsay!

I know, I know, clutching at straws.... :(

I bet all those new parent that have been naming their babies "Ison" or "Isona" are starting to feel a bit daft now...

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goodricke1

goodricke1

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Can you still see it in the early morning?

No, but maybe from Friday onwards.

And here's some more good news:

Hot off the press from Kitt Peak: Matthew Knight sees a nice steady increase in #ISON's brightness since yesterday.

Quote from Matthew: "Since yesterday, #ISON has been behaving nicely!" Latest data is only 5hrs old!

This mailing list is the best source for news, all the pros are on it including famous names like Austin, Hale and Lovejoy!

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mjpfc

mjpfc

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It will be in the feilod of view of Soho's Lasco C3 at 2am so we should get some good images of it from tomorrows wee hours onwards.

Even if it gets "gubbed" by the type of CME that hit Enke in 2007 it should not do the nucleus too much damage.

Skimming through the Corona and inside the Roche limit has always been Isons real threat.

Just been reading about Lovejoy surviving 3 days after its closest encounter before it blew, so we may get a good look at Ison at its best

even if it does pop. On the other hand if its falling to bits now, Lasco will soon be able to show us.

I would be up early to view the latest Lovejoy if the grey lid hadn't set in for the duration.

Mick.

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