A comet, galaxies and stars

[george7378]

This is my latest observing report for 7/10/10:

Sights:

- Comet 103/P Hartley

- M31

- M32

- M110

- The Garnet Star

- The stars and dark nebulae of the Milky Way

- Jupiter

Tonight was beautifully clear for the most part, and I thought I would have a go at finding my first comet. I have tried on previous occasions to find Hartley 2 and failed, but tonight, I got a great introduction to comet observing. I found the double cluster first, and explored the path between the clusters and the stars of Cassiopeia, and eventually, my heart leaped as I finally found the fuzzy green ball. As I became more dark adapted, the atmosphere of the comet, thousands of kilometres in diameter, became apparent. It was very close to some reasonably bright reference stars, so I kept checking up on the position every 5 minutes or so, and over the course of the night, the comet moved from one end of the little line of stars to far beyond the other - I couldn't believe how quickly it was moving! While watching it slowly fall across the sky, I couldn't help but wonder how a 'snowball' 1.5KM across could produce such a large coma. I can't believe I finally found it, and it was amazing to see such change in an object over such a short period of time.

The night was beautifully dark, and after spending a little time laying back under the beautifully structured Milky Way with its stream of light and light-year long dark strands of dust, I turned the scope to the noticably ovular smudge of M31. The galaxy was more amazing than I have ever seen it before, with the faint outer arms stretching beyond the field of view, and the beautiful elongated core surrounded by a coma of floating starlight. The two satellite galaxies were fantastic, with both exhibiting evident shape, and the brighter of the two looking distinctly like an egg-shaped oval. I received the streams of million-year old photons feeling elated - seeing such detail through the telescope while standing under such an amazing sky was truly magical.

I also learned about the Garnet Star recently, and after much searching around the dense star fields of the Milky Way, I found the distinct red point. Seeing such an amazing star, which is one of the most luminous known to us and would reach out to Saturn if placed in our solar system, was a though provoking experience. The only thing giving away its powerful secrets was the strong red tint, while the size and shape of the star did not suggest of the amazing power it held. It is also hard to get my head around the amazing distance at which it lies - it is over 5000 light years distant, and yet, it is still a prominent naked-eye star. I'm just glad I can watch from a distance!

Jupiter was also lovely, with a prominent North Equatorial Belt against the glowing disk, with more subtle cloud zones showing through with time. The moons were aligned so that I could see all four, and complemented the scene nicely.

So, the main sight tonight was Comet Hartley, as it provided a fitting introduction to comet observing, and although it was only my first comet, I can safely say that it will be far from my last! More observing experience also seems to be showing me more detail in objects like M31 - I remember my first viewing, which was over a year ago, and how I progressed to spotting the satellite galaxies, and the coma of dimmer starlight surrounding it. Now that I am getting to know the galaxy, it is revealing some of its most subtle and beautiful details to me.

[Steve922]

What sort of magnitude is the comet now? What were you observing it with?

Steve

[george7378]

What sort of magnitude is the comet now? What were you observing it with?

Steve

Heavens-above says that it is mag. 5.1:

Comet 103P Hartley

I was using a Sky-Watcher 130 reflector to watch it. Binoculars may show you it though - it is getting really bright, and is very close to the double cluster.

[mdstuart]

Great report. Love the way you describe the amazing sights up there..

That comet is an amzing thing!

Mark