Comet hunting

[Sweety]

Hi guys anybody into comet hunting, and know of some good dark sky sites to observe from, I was thinking beaches etc, but someone mentioned that it could be too windy, any ideas thanks guys ..

[Davey-T]

Not from Wales but just to say that the comets around at the moment are rising in the east so you need an eastern horizon so you may be better off up one of those welsh mountains

Dave 

[Sweety]

Thanks Dave, Brecon could be good

[JeremyS]

Do you mean hunting to discover new comets or tracking down known comets?

Either way, a good dark shy is needed. And for discovery, probably good horizons to catch those near the Sun (west after sunset and east before sunrise)

Jeremy

[Sweety]

Hi Jeremy, yes hunting comets I meant, that's why I was thinking of beaches, they have a good western horizon view, rhossilli beach was the best dark sky I've seen, but that was when I was fishing lol.

[Davey-T]

Are you planning on using just your eyes and a decent pair of bin's or taking timelapse  and comparing them using computer software ?

The guy who discovered lots of comets (name escapes me ATM) did it by practically memorising the sky and noticing new objects.

Dave

[JeremyS]

Hello Dave,

perhaps you're think of the legendary nova and comet discoverer, George Alcock, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Alcock

Discovering novae required George to memorise countless star fields to spot an intruder. But comets are slightly simpler (understatement!) as they distinguish themselves by being fuzzy objects.

Hello Sweety,

good luck with your new conquest: fishing for comets! It's not impossible for amateurs to discover them (http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ask-the-experts-how-do-amateur-astronomers-discover-comets/), although most are picked up my sky survey instruments these days.

Go well!

Jeremty