February 6, 2023: Comet C/2023 E3 (ZTF) once more

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Just had a quick look at the comet again, using the Helios LightQuest 16x80 binoculars once more. It is a really easy find at the moment, neatly placed near the centre of the triangle formed by epsilon, eta, and zeta Aurigae. Very easy object in the big bins, although it seems a bit fainter than before (might be moonlight, of course). I hope to get a better chance tomorrow, when the forecast is good, and I don't have all sorts of other tasks in the evening. The comet should be close to the Flaming Star Nebula, and I might try to get it with the good old EOS 550D and Samyang 135 mm F/2. I also aim to set up the big comet catcher, i.e. my Meade SN6 6" F/5 Schmidt-Newton with the Tele-Vue Nagler 31 mm T5 (24.5 x 152mm with a true FOV of 3.34 deg). Maybe I can spot more detail with that. Fingers crossed

[Franklin]

Me too, bang in the middle of "The Kids", bit washed out with the Moon so close though.