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Comet Lovejoy Q2

kerrylewis

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kerrylewis

kerrylewis

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Is there something special happening on Saturday, Kerry?

Derek

I think your question has been answered - I should have been a bit more specific!

We are in a period now when it should be possible to see all the planets in one night. I mentioned Saturday only because the weather forecast looks promising, but it's not the only day when it will be possible.

I've done it a couple of times before and it's strangely satisfying. Not everyone's cup of tea perhaps but you pays your money........

Kerry

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Kainushi

Kainushi

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The wind has ceased blowing and the skies have cleared for the first time in approximately a week.  (Hooray!)

Lovejoy was visible to the west of Orion - on the border of Taurus and Eridanus?  It certainly had covered a good expanse of sky since I last saw it.

My wife even braved the cold to enjoy the view.

post-31292-0-75931500-1420811667_thumb.j

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nicoscy

nicoscy

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Just came in from observing Lovejoy (I am 2 hours ahead of you UK folks). Here are my quick notes:


 


Observing time 18:20pm. Location - center of the city. Very good Transparency. Observation with Nikon Action Extreme 10x50


 


Comet is now clearly a naked eye object from my light polluted location. It is amazing to simply find a tiny patch in the sky which is marginally brighter than the surrounding area, peek with your binoculars and be directly on target.


 


Core and halo have clear separation now. A clear hint of a tail at about 9 o'clock but barely extending in that direction from the halo. 


 


Easiest way to find is 4x the distance between Betelgeuse to Bellatrix, on a straight line from Betelgeuse through Bellatrix like an arrow!


 


And this comes one hour after a naked eye observation of a conjunction of Venus and Mercury separated by less than a degree. A beautiful way to end the day and start the weekend!


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MarkSuffolk

MarkSuffolk

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I have tried a few times to view this comet from my location with 10x50 binoculars but have not had much luck. I did see an object in the general location that was a bit fuzzy. I guess that was it! But I think I have been unlucky with the cloud cover last night getting in the way, especially tonight. I find it strange I can't see it very well as I have been lead to believe it is very bright, but I found the stars around it to be brighter, even the dimmer ones. But then I am new to it, so maybe I'm doing something wrong. I even tried a long exposure with an SLR, still not luck.

Hopefully I will get a good look at it tomorrow night as I got my new scope today, an 8" Dobsonian, so tomorrow night I will try again and hopefully get a good look at it.

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MarkSuffolk

MarkSuffolk

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I have tried a few times to view this comet from my location with 10x50 binoculars but have not had much luck. I did see an object in the general location that was a bit fuzzy. I guess that was it! But I think I have been unlucky with the cloud cover last night getting in the way, especially tonight. I find it strange I can't see it very well as I have been lead to believe it is very bright, but I found the stars around it to be brighter, even the dimmer ones. But then I am new to it, so maybe I'm doing something wrong. I even tried a long exposure with an SLR, still not luck.

Hopefully I will get a good look at it tomorrow night as I got my new scope today, an 8" Dobsonian, so tomorrow night I will try again and hopefully get a good look at it.

And just to add I did spend 20 minutes on Wednesday night looking at what I thought was the comet flashing green and white but in the end turned out it was Sirius :D

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Davey-T

Davey-T

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I have tried a few times to view this comet from my location with 10x50 binoculars but have not had much luck. I did see an object in the general location that was a bit fuzzy. I guess that was it! But I think I have been unlucky with the cloud cover last night getting in the way, especially tonight. I find it strange I can't see it very well as I have been lead to believe it is very bright, but I found the stars around it to be brighter, even the dimmer ones. But then I am new to it, so maybe I'm doing something wrong. I even tried a long exposure with an SLR, still not luck.

Hopefully I will get a good look at it tomorrow night as I got my new scope today, an 8" Dobsonian, so tomorrow night I will try again and hopefully get a good look at it.

Should be easy to see in 10X50s, I could see it easily in 8X50 finder last night with hazy sky and lots of LP.

Dave

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DRT

DRT

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The sky has just turned very clear here and the comet is easy to pick out with the binos. I almost convinced myself I could see it with the naked eye but I'm not sure. It's far too windy to get a scope out without running the risk of broken glass so I'll have to wait until tomorrow for a better look.

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DRT

DRT

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I braved the gale for ten minutes with my 12" Dob and Ethos 13mm - it was a bit like trying to sail across the Solent in a bathtub but I managed to get the comet in the eyepiece and had a very nice view of the small bright core and large comma. My best view yet but everything was packed away again just in time for the next blanket of cloud to pour over from the west. I hope it is less windy tomorrow as that wasn't a nice experience.

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greglloyd

greglloyd

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Is that view from the Iss not of Mr Lovejoy's previous discovery?

Ah, you are quite right!! Made the mistake of just googling for "comet lovejoy". So perhaps this one doesn't look so spectacular up there after all :-)

That photo however is a real beaut.

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John

John

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With my lowest magnification with the ED120 (29x, Nagler 31mm) I have a vague sensation of a tail / extended halo out towards the west of the nucleus. Anybody else seeing something there or is it my mind playing tricks ? :icon_scratch:

It's a large object now though, even at low powers. Very condensed towards the center.

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