Last Look at Linear

[Phil Hart]

This was my first look at Comet 252P/Linear and the last until whatever is left of it after the moonlight gets out of the way.

Moonset was 6:02am and twilight started at the exact same time at my location in central Victoria. The darkest sky was around 6:10am:

SmugMug (https://philhart.smugmug.com/CometsAndMeteors/Comets/i-fsbF5NG/A)

Canon 6D, Samyang 35mm lens f2.8, 2 mins, ISO800. Tracking on SkyWatcher Star Adventurer. And a little StarSpikes Photoshop help.

Have enjoyed the images from many other folks of this startling comet - strange but very easy naked eye and so big in binoculars.

Phil

[pfitzgerald]

A lovely shot Phil.

[anthony.tony]

Nice Image - Tony

[Atmos]

Really nice shot Phil, if the moon wasn't around and my Pentax binos were in my hands (shipping out from Bintel tomorrow hopefully) I'd be spending the night in Heathcote tonight :)

Maybe I'll get a chance to see this comet before it's gone, at least I got some picture to look at :P

[andyc]

Very fine photo Phil. I've quite missed this comet, nice to be able to see some good shots like this.

[Phil Hart]

Thanks Paul, Tony, Colin, Andy. I'd been a bit frustrated myself at missing out to this point so was glad to squeeze in an opportunity at the last chance. Fingers crossed its brightness holds up for after the Moon.

Phil

[sharptrack2]

Hello everyone,

I am very frustrated at the moment. I have been trying to find this target for the last week, off and on. Last night was my best shot at seeing it but it eluded me.

I've seen the photos taken so far and they are impressive. I would like to know what would you see if you are looking through binoculars or a small aperture telescope? I'm certainly not expecting to see green but it does look like it should stand out quite easily if you are looking in the right place.

I'm not very experienced in gauging distances when looking but according to two different planetarium apps, I was able to identify very easy to find references and with a 32mm EP in a 70mm F7 telescope, should have been able to find it.

Tonight will be a little hit or miss depending on what the cloud cover decides to do in my immediate area, but I'm willing to wait up until around midnight to get my first glimpse of a comet (yes, 56 years old and have never seen one :( ). The moon should not be so high that it washes out my southerly view.

Any advice is warmly welcome! I also have a 5" F5 Newtonian and a 8" SCT. I thought they might be a little over kill for this task but please correct me if I'm wrong.

[SpaceTas]

There are a couple of visual descriptions in the Observing reports. Binoculars are the way to go. It is huge! Bigger than moon, so you need a wide field to get any contrast against the sky. I haven't tried with a telescope but was able to find it with standard 50mm binoculars (hand held).
What you look for is a round faint glow. It's like a very diffuse globular cluster. It's surface brightness is pretty low. Less than bright patches in the milky way and a lot less than Omega Cen. It's a lot bigger than Omega Cen.

I suspect it will hard to see against the Milky Way. Reports say it gets washed out by bright moonlight.

Hope this helps.

[sharptrack2]

Thanks Stefan,

I'll check out the reports again. I have read most of the ones with photos.

The clouds are being stubborn this evening so it may all be for naught, but I might take my chances and get up earlier than normal in the morning and give it a go.

[plantnerd]

Really nice star colours and the comet looks good as well

[skysurfer]

Nice picture !

It has moved a lot ! Just a week ago (17 Mar, day before leaving South Africa) I saw it in Mensa near the LMC with my 16x50 binos.