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Comet / 2012 k1 Panstarrs in Bootes

mjpfc

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andrew63

andrew63

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Just had my first view of Comet Panstarrs through the 4" refractor.  The conditions were poor haze, moisture - damp pocket sky atlas and eyepiece fogging...    Just a tiny smudge - like a classic messier object. At 44x could not see much of a stellar like core just a pea size haze. Will be good to have a look under better skies.

andrew

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Kirscovitch

Kirscovitch

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I am itching to get back out for another view. Weather has not been the best over the past week and things are not looking good until this coming weekend. Now I know how you guys over in the UK feel about the cloudy, rainy weather. 

At least spring has sprung in central WI!

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AlexB67

AlexB67

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Should be nice catch tonight, if it cleared up :rolleyes: . Just checking progress should just fall very close to center of telrad rings with the edge of the outer ring on alkaid, so an easy find.  Forgot about this one last time I was out, I could have bagged it.  Time for it yet though :smiley:

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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Is this the same PANSTARRS that was kicking about last year, or am i confusing it with ISON. I remember reading (i think) that there will be a very nice comet in our skies around this time of the year. I just seem to recall PANSTARRS knocking about last year.

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kerrylewis

kerrylewis

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Is this the same PANSTARRS that was kicking about last year, or am i confusing it with ISON. I remember reading (i think) that there will be a very nice comet in our skies around this time of the year. I just seem to recall PANSTARRS knocking about last year.

No it's not. PANSTARRS is a sky survey and is discovering many comets which then take its name. - some are faint but some will reach a decent brightness. The way I differentiate this one is by the K1 suffix.

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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No it's not. PANSTARRS is a sky survey and is discovering many comets which then take its name. - some are faint but some will reach a decent brightness. The way I differentiate this one is by the K1 suffix.

Thanks for that info Kerry. I thought i was losing the plot, and i have to a degree. I'm up to speed now.

So the next one discovered will end with K2 suffix?

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kerrylewis

kerrylewis

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Thanks for that info Kerry. I thought i was losing the plot, and i have to a degree. I'm up to speed now.

So the next one discovered will end with K2 suffix?

It's more complicated than that apparently but I had to google it! The name includes the year of discovery (that's straightforward) and then apparently the K1 bit refers to the 'half month' that it was discovered and so it was the first in that half of a month - the next would be K2 and so on before half a month is up and then it switches to L- simples! Learn something every day!

Kerry

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ChrisLX200

ChrisLX200

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Had a try for this tonight but had 'technical problems'. I'm now getting a doughnut reflection from the LPAS filter back onto the focal reducer, maybe if I put the filter in front of the reducer it would fix it but there is no thread at that end (yet). So I had to put up with it. This is an LRGB 3x5min each channel through the 10" SCT (I should have used the refractor....)

PanstarrsLRGB_zps0d0ba180.jpg

ChrisH

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Moonshane

Moonshane

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it's a lot fainter than Lovejoy which I saw with 7x36 bins. I sketched it last night. with my 12" dob in worse than average skies, and it was reasonably obvious, especially with averted vision. it's a round for a good while yet and I think set to brighten slightly.

post-5119-0-61405800-1399075951.jpg

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bish

bish

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Managed to get out and see it last night. The sky wasn't completely clear, so I was looking through a bit of a haze. It was faint in my 10". There was a brief time where it showed some shape, like Shane's sketch  - but most of the time it was just a faint small round fuzz.

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StarSapling

StarSapling

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Checked the comet out last night with my 120mm @ 60x.  Bright nucleus and coma with a very faint, broad and short tail pointing to east/southeast. It was nestled right up next to two faint stars.

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mjpfc

mjpfc

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Report copied from my post in Observing reports forum and added-to gratuitously.

Folks,

was out las night under a quite hazy sky, but Panstarrs still looks pretty good across near 21 Canes V.

It has a small-Bright head and a wisp of a straight, short tapering tail in my 8" with 10mm lens.

It would probably look all of it's mag 8.6 on a transparent night.

Also, Comet 2014 E2 Jaques is supposed to be mag 7.5 in southern Monoceros but its too low to see from my place, even on the

south coast its very low and getting lower each night. I may try from an elevated location if it clears some more but

I think I have missed this one.

Stil, Bank holiday tomorrow so I will be staying up tonight until the wee hours to try to Catch 2012 X1 Linear -

(One of the Original "Brat pack" with Ison and Lovejoy) Which should be around mag 8 near the border of Capricornus

and Aquarius, heading down to the vicinity of the Helix Nebula (Might be too far away though, even for a wide angle shot).

Clear skies all

Mick

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mjpfc

mjpfc

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I was looking out on the 30th and I thought I could make out a second tail at about 30 degrees to the thick dust tail.

wishful thinking driving my retinas or is an ion tail starting to show?

Mick

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mjpfc

mjpfc

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Marvelous,    it's good to know that your'e not imagining things.

It's bad enough to be told by Debs I have been alone in the garden when I thought I'd been having

a star Party.

It is a slim little protuberance to my sight but even when I left the eyepiece and returned I picked it up again.

I must say, above expextations this has been a cracking little Comet all round.

Mind you, we have had more than our share of bright visitors lately, you don;t suppose our old friend "Nemesis"

has been messing about in the Oort-Opik cloud again?

Bring on the " Even later, but not quite as heavy Bombardment" I say.

Clear skies      (Clearer than ours just now won't be difficult)

Mick

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kerrylewis

kerrylewis

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Thanks for the report Mick. I like this comet - I think mainly because it's not one if those that hover around in the twilight. It's nice and high.

Looking forward to the next clear skies to check on its progress. Tomorrow maybe?

Kerry

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