Lovejoy Versus Linear in Ophiuchus

[mjpfc]

A second clear sky in 3 days tonight, so I'm setting the alarm again for the Ophiuchus Comet showdown.

I was out early yesterday morning and the two were close at the top-right of the constellation, and cleared the houses

to my East and East-North-East at 04:35

Lovejoy still is one, a little dimmer than mag 6 and still with an extensive tail pointing straight up, and now seeming to

envelope the large head and coma. - superb. Easily picked up in my 10 x 50s and great in the scope.

Linear is much smaller and about two mags fainter about 8 degrees to the right of Lovejoy. 

It looks to have two tails coming from its tiny pinpoint of a bright coma, the fainter once seeming to fan out.

Lovejoy is due to fade sometime soon, and Linear I believe should brighten, so if they stay at least relatively near

for the next week or two, then it should be fun to keep tabs on them and compare.

I think tomorrow morning should be clear enough for round 2 so I'll be out there early...

Clear skies,  Mick

[mjpfc]

Just back in for a needed warm-up with a Coffee (Very cold out there this morning due to a stiff easterly wind).

The sky was slightly hazy this morning with some very thin cloud moving across, but the Comets showed themselves

quite quickly after 04:15. 

LOVEJOY - was relatively easy in binos so the sky isnt too bad, just not good for contrast with any real magnification.

The tail dimmed away a lot with distance from the Coma however, compaired to Friday Morning, and a quick glance would make it look short. 

Still a good looking object though, with a large bright head.

LINEAR - A bit on the grimm side this morning, being little more than a half-fan-shaped smudge, with a bright point to the top right

(Newt view). It looked a lot better on Friday, and at sky was not perfect, so I think tere is plenty of detail to be seen in this Comet

with a descent amount of transparency.

While I was up I have also has a good mooch about in Coma B and Virgo for messiers, as well as watching IO (and shadow) Cross and

Callisto behind Jupiters disc, Mars and Finally Saturn and Titan before it Dawned on Me....

Clear skies,

Mick.

[cotterless45]

Neat, been watching Lovejoy since it went through CrB. It's been interesting to watch it's progress through Bootes, Hercules and Ophiuchus. It's a lovely easy binocular target.

Haven't got around to Linear yet, will have to get up earlier and set up,

Nick.

[Special K]

This morning would have been good around my way, but I had to get on the motorway at 6am. Had a quick look at Saturn and Mars with the bins before setting off! Sounds like I need to get an eye back on Lovejoy before it finishes this time around, and I haven't yet done Linear.

[Pete Presland]

could be a nice coming together in the coming weeks!

[mjpfc]

Thumping rain just now and has been for a few days - Another clear night this weekend would'nt go amiss.

I would dearly like to get a run of night's obs in before they get too low, although they are descending slowly

the fun must end sometime. If Linear brightend a bit more I would be able to see them in the little scope from

down the beach.

Nice low horizon.....Lovely.

Apart from that, the very act of being up early to see them has me observing things I normally never see in January. I'm

practically into summer already.  If only the weather Gods thought the same way...

Mick

[cotterless45]

There are super morning targets, Mars, Saturn and Lovejoy. Getting ready for Linear, but the forecast is dire for the week ahead,hoping for clear skies,Nick.

[mjpfc]

Evening Nick,

Met office seem confidant of clear skies from just before midnight Tonight, possibly util dawn tomorrow - Certainly for the south and Midlands but may be not for Scotland, very northern England and right down the west(sorry guys).

S@N are also taliking about Comet K1 Pan-stars now below mag 12 (poss 11.1 by Feb 1st) just above our two protagonists Heading up towards Hercules from Serpens Caput.

Therefore It's off to bo-bos for me, and I'll set the alarm for around 3 O'clock (Dont want Jupiter to set before I've had a look).

I know I may probably miss "Saturday night Soakaway" or some such but It's something I just have to be prepared to miss out on (Of all the DIY subjects, sewerage plumbing is my least favourite anyway).

Good night and clear skies,  Mick

[mjpfc]

Up at 4:30,

                   clear to the west, but quite a bit of rubbish (surely life-giving, Solar photon reflecting water vapour) to the

east made me uneasy about seeing anything of the Comets this morning.

Lovejoy However was again no problem to find, even in a murky sky. It was not in best form as the tail faded quickly

in such a sky, but the head of the comet and short-brightest part of the tail stood out well. The Coma looks to me to be

around mag 7.5, with the tail a good deal fainter.

Linear was harder, but was given away by its bright Coma at around mag 8, and faint little fan spread out behind, still looks very

small though, and I nearly missed it in the hazy seeing.

Had a look for K1 Panstarrs, nothing definite to report, there were a couple of smudges that I caught in the area but after examination they

could have been anything. Not too much later just about every star could be taken for a comet.

I also looked at Jupiter and Mars, The former low in the west, but big and bold with all 4 moons on view, 3 to one side.

MARS is getting slightly bigger, enough to clearly see how much is shadowed (showing about 78% phase?) and I fancied I saw a dark

patch towards its terminator side. I could have been mistaken as by this time I was cold, and was being adversely affected by the sound of a kettle

boiling......... Thankfully its mine.

Mick.

[Special K]

Glad you got that break in the clouds, Mick, we were wall to wall up here. Maybe with better conditions Panstarrs will be visible. I didn't realize it is in Hercules now and will have a look next chance I get.

[mjpfc]

Out again this morning but failed to see Panstarrs due to too much mist at Ground Level and a nearby moon brightening up an already bright sky I suspect.

Saw Lovejoy and Linear, though only the coma, and just enough of their tails to be able to work out which direction the sun is.

Not much else visible through the freezing mist.

Looked under Ophiuchus, M107 was very faint, and looked like a faint nebula.

Thanfully I was able to haul my carcass outside yesterday eve (20:00-22:30) and got some good observing done of Galaxies in Perseus and all manner

of clusters in Monoceros before the dew and cold became too much of a problem.

At 06:20 I was then out Scraping the Ice off my wife's car and was rewarded with a fly-past of the ISS 06:41-06:44, Straight west

to east, dishappearing low into the sunrise as it turned Orange.

Hot bowl of porridge, a little more Ice scraping and I can head off to work (hopefully indoors for the rest of the morning at least).

Mick.