The briefest look at Comet C2022 E3 ZTF

[badhex]

Hello all, 

Prior warning, I may win the wooden objective lens trophy for the shortest actual observing time in an observing report here! 

Saturday night saw a predicted break in the clouds for the first time in weeks on end, around four hours starting at 1900. I got my TS102 F7 and Mount Zero set up and cooling outside well in advance to try and take full advantage of the situation, although was not completely convinced when at 1800 we still had 100% cloud cover. 

Still, I wrapped up and sat on my northeast facing covered balcony from about 1915 onwards and waited... and waited. Although there were one or two tiny sucker holes, I couldn't even see more than two stars at once to get my bearings and any revealed star was visible for no more than a minute before disappearing again. Under normal circumstances I would not bother observing at all, but this really was last chance saloon, as all my gear is being packed, along with the rest of my belongings, to be shipped to the UK ahead of my glorious return in May. 

After nearly two hours of waiting I was close to giving up but figured I'd come back into the warm for a bit and check again every 15 mins to see if there was any improvement, but was cognisant of my hard deadline of 2230 when food was due to arrive. 

At 2145 it had cleared! I quickly got my coat etc back on and got outside but by 2150, the clouds returned again! 😱😭

Honestly ready to just call it, I figured maybe there was hope just beyond the visible part of the sky, and so I waited a bit more... and lo and behold! With just over five mins to go before food arrived (typical!), the clouds cleared enough for me to track down the comet with the Lacerta ED 40mm.

Under my city skies and with not great night adaptation at this point, it appeared as a light patch of very pale tinted green fuzz around a pinpoint. Although it was pretty faint, it also clearly stood out from the stars around it. No tail in sight sadly. I tried switching up to the Morpheus 17.5mm to see if I could improve the contrast, but only a moment later the doorbell went and it was time to call it. I did do a quick sky check after I'd eaten but as expected the 100% cloud cover had returned, so that was that. 

 

Well, I'd have loved to spend more time at the eyepiece and tease out more detail but it was not to be. At least I did get it! I had hoped as well for a potential second go over the last evening or so but the clouds were not playing, and with the movers arriving imminently, that ship, or perhaps moving van, has sailed.

If you made it this far, I hope the payoff was not too disappointing, but I did warn you at the start it was a very short observation 🙂

 

Thanks!

[Mandy D]

20 hours ago, badhex said:

Hello all, 

Prior warning, I may win the wooden objective lens trophy for the shortest actual observing time in an observing report here! 

Saturday night saw a predicted break in the clouds for the first time in weeks on end, around four hours starting at 1900. I got my TS102 F7 and Mount Zero set up and cooling outside well in advance to try and take full advantage of the situation, although was not completely convinced when at 1800 we still had 100% cloud cover. 

Still, I wrapped up and sat on my northeast facing covered balcony from about 1915 onwards and waited... and waited. Although there were one or two tiny sucker holes, I couldn't even see more than two stars at once to get my bearings and any revealed star was visible for no more than a minute before disappearing again. Under normal circumstances I would not bother observing at all, but this really was last chance saloon, as all my gear is being packed, along with the rest of my belongings, to be shipped to the UK ahead of my glorious return in May. 

After nearly two hours of waiting I was close to giving up but figured I'd come back into the warm for a bit and check again every 15 mins to see if there was any improvement, but was cognisant of my hard deadline of 2230 when food was due to arrive. 

At 2145 it had cleared! I quickly got my coat etc back on and got outside but by 2150, the clouds returned again! 😱😭

Honestly ready to just call it, I figured maybe there was hope just beyond the visible part of the sky, and so I waited a bit more... and lo and behold! With just over five mins to go before food arrived (typical!), the clouds cleared enough for me to track down the comet with the Lacerta ED 40mm.

Under my city skies and with not great night adaptation at this point, it appeared as a light patch of very pale tinted green fuzz around a pinpoint. Although it was pretty faint, it also clearly stood out from the stars around it. No tail in sight sadly. I tried switching up to the Morpheus 17.5mm to see if I could improve the contrast, but only a moment later the doorbell went and it was time to call it. I did do a quick sky check after I'd eaten but as expected the 100% cloud cover had returned, so that was that. 

 

Well, I'd have loved to spend more time at the eyepiece and tease out more detail but it was not to be. At least I did get it! I had hoped as well for a potential second go over the last evening or so but the clouds were not playing, and with the movers arriving imminently, that ship, or perhaps moving van, has sailed.

If you made it this far, I hope the payoff was not too disappointing, but I did warn you at the start it was a very short observation 🙂

 

Thanks!

Wait, what? You got five minutes?

Nope, I really cannot allow this to go unchallenged! 🙃

Monday night provided me with clear skies, horizon to horizon, with but a wisp of cloud near my target, the Moon. So, I set up to photograph it. That took two whole minutes. I then focused and grabbed a test shot. By the time I had examined the image on the camera's LCD, the whole sky had disappeared behind clouds so dense I could not even see the Moon. End of (30 second) session!

I proudly present my resultant image!

[Epick Crom]

In my book any observing is better than none at all, even if it lasted 5 minutes! Your perseverance paid off👍

[badhex]

3 hours ago, Mandy D said:

Wait, what? You got five minutes?

Nope, I really cannot allow this to go unchallenged! 🙃

Monday night provided me with clear skies, horizon to horizon, with but a wisp of cloud near my target, the Moon. So, I set up to photograph it. That took two whole minutes. I then focused and grabbed a test shot. By the time I had examined the image on the camera's LCD, the whole sky had disappeared behind clouds so dense I could not even see the Moon. End of (30 second) session!

I proudly present my resultant image!

"Hold my beer..." 😂

You definitely win the wooden objective lens trophy! Maybe we should ask the mods to set up a badge for it 😂

Nice image nonetheless though! 

[badhex]

2 hours ago, Epick Crom said:

In my book any observing is better than none at all, even if it lasted 5 minutes! Your perseverance paid off👍

This is true! It has genuinely been horizon to horizon clouds since I had a shoulder op in Dec. At least I wasn't missing much during my first couple of weeks recovery but I'd actually got everything set up and ready to go under a bbq cover, so if it had been clear I could get a session in without having to lift or move anything. 

Oh well, better than nothing! Here's hoping that the weather will be better in May/June in the UK when I get all my stuff back! 

[Mandy D]

2 hours ago, badhex said:

"Hold my beer..." 😂

You definitely win the wooden objective lens trophy! Maybe we should ask the mods to set up a badge for it 😂

Nice image nonetheless though! 

Yep, my objective may as well have been made of wood! 🙃

Thank you, I'll look forward to collecting my trophy. Should I prepare a speech?

Not my best image, but given the circumstances, I am more than happy with it.

[PeterW]

Probably shorter session than yours, with a bright moon and brighter light pollution there isn’t a whole lot more about to look at. Forgetting the monopod my chunky 10x50 seem to gain weight rapidly….. good thing the comet is easy to find. If it was nicer weather I’d have lain down on the grass and looked up, easier to view near the zenith… but the ground is soggy!

Great to catch this once in 50,000yr comet, sure there’ll be another round soon… 😉

peter