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Old 28-12-2009, 10:45 AM
Rob_K
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Rob_K is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Bright, Vic, Australia
Posts: 2,161
Thanks for your comments Orestis! I'd imagine you have access to some pretty good dark skies in the Southern Highlands, and 130mm will let you see heaps of stuff!

Comet 81P Wild is a bit challenging for a small scope at the moment - the key is nailing down its exact position so you know precisely where to look. There are many galaxies in its general location. At the moment, with the moon intruding, your only shot would be early morning in the next two nights. If your planetarium program doesn't show it, there are other options. Here's a link to a finder chart, although the scale isn't as small as you'd like it:
http://cometchasing.skyhound.com/comets/81P.gif

The days are in UT though. So at a point marked 29/12, that would be 11am on the 29th for us.

You can also find its exact location by generating an hourly ephemeris for the comet, and then finding that point on your planetarium program, to show you what the field looks like. Not as complicated as it sounds, but takes a bit of getting used to. Times are always in UT (Universal Time). You'd go here, and click the link to go to personalised ephemeris (in the paragraph under the "Ephemeris" heading):
http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/Ephem...ets/0081P.html

Comets brighter than mag 9 are much more in our range, but we have a bit of a shortage of them at the moment!! This site here can keep you up to date on what's happening in the world of comets:
http://www.aerith.net/index.html

Good luck with your observing!

Cheers -
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