I really, really hope there's a chance it might be visible from Victoria! I saw McNaught (absolutely incredible) and Lovejoy (like a big spotlight) and I would love to see this one as well!
Will the comet be named "comet Gillard?" cold on the inside with a dirty past . Need a quick inexpensive trip to the northern hemisphere to view. Time to go looking for conferences. Hawaii sounds nice.
If this comet does break up on close approach to the Sun, then we in the southern hemisphere will get the best view before perihelion and the north may not see anything.
Who knows with this comet! Actually, the preperihelion leg seems pretty much equally visible from either hemisphere with the comet and sun at similiar declination. Should daylight visibility eventuate, the comet would be well placed overhead at noon for us.
I've just benn having a conversation with Colin Legg on his "Tassie Geminid" thread regarding prospects for ISON next November. I have since re-visited some of my initial comments to see if they are going to stack up, and Colin suggested that I share them here.
It's not going to be easy with ISON. For us it will be a bright object sitting above the morning twilight throughout November until perihelion. On the 14th we have our last chance to see the comet above twilight and without moonlight as well. By the time it reaches a negative magnitude the coma will be in brightening twilight. If it has developed any significant tail by then it should be pointing out on a nearly 45 degree angle to the left, the main problem is the wanning moon which will still interfere.
On the morning of perihelion, Nov 29th, (for New Zealand observers) the comet will rise about 7 minutes before the sun and directly above it. I am not really sure if it will make too much difference in the end given that the sun is so close by, but I would advise observers and photographers to find somewhere with a true south east horizon. No hills, mountains, trees or buildings. Have bino's with you for looking for the comet, but as soon as the green or blue flash from the rising sun appears then put the bino's away.
There is no point in going to the northern hemisphere at perihelion. Given the quality of austral skies compared to the N.H., observers will have a better chance of seeing ISON in daylight from home, if the weather is kind, and the comet makes the magnitude estimates.
As you can see from the detailed chart attached the comet is moving very fast so that by the time that the comet rises it will be next to the sun and even closer making it very difficult to see for Australian observers. I initially thought that if the comet had developed a lengthy tail that it would be seen rising just before the start of morning twilight, but that isn't common until after perihelion. The chart shows plots I made by hand starting at Nov 28th 17.00 U.T. (rising time here in N.Z. on the 29th) and through to 7hrs U.T. on the 29th.
Australian observers will find it easier to see when the comet is 3 or more degrees from the sun, unless the comet gets brighter than predicted of course. Don't forget to have a go at observing the comet on the 28th local time when the comet is predicted to be around -4.0 and 6 degrees from the sun.
I was lucky enough to see Comet McNaught in daylight on two consecutive days back in '07. This should outdo McNaught in that respect, and ISON may even rival The Great September Comet of 1882 as far the record for the number of days, which stands at 5, where naked-eye visibility is concerned as well. I'm picking 3 at least, but we shall see.
Looking at prospects for the northern tropics post-perihelion it doesn't look that great. It is all to do with angles. For all of December the comet will be setting with the sun. Even for higher northern latitudes it won't be until just before Christmas that the alignment will improve enough for the comet to get above the evening twilight. Christmas Day should be the pick of it with the moon out of the evening sky. Even then the tail will cut a low trajectory across the northern horizon much like McNaught at the end of January 2007 in the morning sky, but even flatter. The bonus for comet lovers could be a massively long tail of 90 degrees or longer! Don't be put off by the predicted magnitude of +4. From a dark sky site this will be a most impressive sight.
Thanks for the info.
I should still be in Europe at the time so if it holds up I will definitely be looking at maximizing the chances of getting a better viewing.
No idea yet on where to go but it's a ways off so plenty of time to organise something.
On a side note is there any reason to suspect we may get a new meteor shower from Ison?
good timing on the European trip. You are going to need to find somewhere that isn't light polluted, and fine at the same time. I haven't been there but I believe that combination is a hard ask at any time of the year let alone at the start of their winter. Best of luck on that one.
Not sure about any possible meteor shower. There will be someone working on that right now if there is any possibility.
Suzy,
I ran my planetarium for Brisbane and it will be very tricky at first with the comet at about a 2 o'clock position from the sun at the time of rising for the 29th (see pic attached). The comet will be closest and therefore potentially the hardest to see, at 21.20 hrs U.T. (7.20 a.m. Brisbane time).
The comet will quickly move away from the sun and by late afternoon will be better placed down at a 5 o'clock position but still only a little over 2.5 degrees from the sun. This means that an observer has to be extra vigilant in keeping the sun out of view at all times.
The gap widens on the 30th but there is a trade off in magnitude. I would suggest if people have the chance then they start looking for the comet in daylight on the 28th. I've attached a series of scenarios for you Suzy using TheSky V6.0 planetarium programme.
It will be worth travelling to somewhere that the sky is clear for this rare opportunity.
Ian, thank you so much, you're an absolute gem!!!
You've gone to so much time & trouble- and I deeply appreciate it.
I hope you and Noel get some awesome pics to add to your magnificient comet collection- which I'm sure you will. Are you travelling to see it- I'm guessing you guys are?
Seeing those diagrams really hits it home how difficult this may be to see.
And whoa, I just had a nasty thought- I hope people don't injure their eyesight trying to separate the comet from the sun.
QUESTIONS:
Can you please tell me where is the closest point to Australia I need to travel to, to see it? I'm not sure if I can handle a long leg of a plane journey- I'm not a good traveller.
Is this a crazy question? Will we need to wear solar glasses as it's so close to the sun & will they even work on the comet?
Also
the problem for people trying to find this comet in daylight is a perplexing one. On one hand we would like to promote this opportunity to modern lay people as some of their ancestors have had in the past (see the painting by Smyth at the Cape of Good Hope in March 1843 attached). Then on the other hand is the difficulty in teaching a mass audience a very tricky technique without many of them getting it wrong, with bad consequences.
We could promote people to practice hiding the sun in a manner sufficient to see the comet, but I feel that on the 29th with the comet so close, much closer than McNaught BTW, then it would prove too tempting to some who may use optical aid and get it all wrong. A conundrum for sure.
As for travelling to see this comet well in December next year there is only one option and that is to the mid and high latitudes of the northern hemisphere, unfortunately. I don't have any plans at this stage. My long term plans for astro-travel include the Total Solar Eclipse over the US in August 2017. Results by some of my New Zealand friends at the Cairns eclipse this year has sparked a renewed interest in seeing another eclipse or two sometime. I had a great view of the "Big One" over Baja California Sur, Mexico in July 1991, or I could wait until I am 81 and have one pass right over my house!
I'm going on the idea that we might be living in France by that time so as far as I can tell the easiest option would be a drive up to the Normandy region on the coast overlooking the channel islands. It seem to be one of the more LP free regions. Depending on what other plans we might have.
The other thing I have just considered is stellarium predicts(the only info I had at hand) Ison to be +6mag on November the 3rd, there is also a total solar eclipse on that day so I wonder if ir might be visible during totality or even able to be captured on camera with a wide enough lense to get the eclipse and comet in.
I imagine it'd need to be a combination of exposures to work.
Just an idea I had.
I wonder what Gabon is like in November?
Hopefully some news soon re the meteor shower, that would be a nice bonus.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ian Cooper
Hi Jarrod,
good timing on the European trip. You are going to need to find somewhere that isn't light polluted, and fine at the same time. I haven't been there but I believe that combination is a hard ask at any time of the year let alone at the start of their winter. Best of luck on that one.
Not sure about any possible meteor shower. There will be someone working on that right now if there is any possibility.
- I was actually trying to find more info on Ison today.
