|
All is not lost!
Thanks Luigi, Liz, jjjnettie & fringe_dweller,
I guess that I was just a bit disappointed with the magnitude drop-off. Going by the photo from Tassie on Spaceweather I think that the cloud layer stopped us from seeing the comet on the horizon, which was our best chance to get decent contrast this morning.
Tomorrow will be an improved view but from Thursday morning onwards the tail may stretch out against the darker sky, even if the coma remains faint.
We may have been spoilt somewhat by the appearance of McNaught 5 years ago, and the lack of naked-eye comets in the interim certainly doesn't help. Hopes that this would be a fine comet of mag +1 to 2 have dropped back to it being a good naked-eye comet of mag +3 to 5 with a nice tail.
The photo taken this morning confirm my observation and prove that I wasn't suffering from Martian Canal Syndrome!
All the best for your next attempts. Cheers
Coops
|