Rating the whole Comet McNaught experience.

[jjjnettie]

It may be too soon to post this poll. What with the magnitude of the nucleous fading and the tail getting more and more impressive with each night.
How would you rate your experience of viewing Comet McNaught?

[Starkler]

I'll let you know when the conditions actually allow me to see it :mad2:
Seven days of clouded/smoked out western sky and counting. :help:

[matt]

Good question and poll, jjj:)

I've really enjoyed McNaught, even though the weather hasn't played nice.

The thing for me is that it has completely surpassed my expectations.

I was excited when I heard a comet was on the way but thought it might be a difficult object to find and view.

I never expected it to be so visible (naked eye) and the display it has put on the last couple of days has been nothing short of fantastic.

I'd dare to say it has made up for the bitter disappointment of Halley.

[janoskiss]

Over the past week I've concluded that so far the two leading contenders for scams and/or hoaxes of the year are: 1) the drought, 2) the comet, not necessarily in that order. :mad2:

[Ric]

Finally got to see it in clears skies last night. It has certainly lived up to all the hype and then some. The tail is just amazing.

Fantastic stuff

[matt]

It's neither a scam or hoax, Steve.

It's just that the universe is against you:lol::lol:

[leon]

I found it fantastic to see, even if it was only for 5mins, the rest of the times it's been clouded over, however, although being very impressive i still get a kick out of all the other objects in the sky that i have never laid eyes on.

Cheers Leon

[IceAgeComing]

i have a cloud following me around

[iceman]

#1 for me, the most amazing thing i've ever seen.

Completely blew me away every night at IISAC2007!

[ballaratdragons]

Jeanette,

I had to tick 'What Comet'. I think your all pulling my leg. I haven't seen it yet (set up every evening to view).

You all put a big bunch of cloud out there to try trick me.

Comet! Phooey!!!!

[mickoking]

I am usually not a comet person more deep sky and stuff, but this comet ROCKS. Best Astronomical object I have seen :cheers:

[astroron]

The only thing to beat this for me will be a Supernova in our Galaxy, and I find it:prey:The History of Halleys Comet Made it special even though not spectacular visualy,:) I was stoked with S/N1987A:thumbsup: , amazed with Comet Shoemaker Levy 9:eyepop: , loved Comets Hyakutake, and Hale_Bopp, :jump2: But words seem inadequate to describe this Comet:jawdrop:

[Blue Skies]

It's been a dream of mine to see a comet like this and it's been pretty good. But I's have to say that a total solar eclipse would push my buttons even more than McNaught has.

[Sausageman]

Blue Skies,
Far North Queensland, 2012, A Total Eclipse. I'll be there.
If my memory is still working after Lostock. I had my brain fried by Comet McNaught.


Mike.

[toc]

Well, for me Halley's comet is vastly superior, since I actually got to see that one :lol:

No doubt by the time the clouds clear it will be as impressive as Halley's was too - i.e a lame little smudge only visible with high powered binoculars.

Do I sound bitter? :sadeyes:

[DonG]

This is a great comet; it has longevity, and a nice tail, but, for brightness and spectacle, Hyakutake beats it. It was truly grande at 3am high up in a dark sky. Don't get me wrong, I still think that McNaught is a brilliant "bridesmaid" (If only it had been overhead at midnight and still mag -3!).

[Shawn]

Clouds have not broken since I finished the observatory, I was warned that this would happen. aybe I should have delayed completion until after the comet...:lol:

[dcnicholls]

It's very fine, but not (yet) as good as Comet Ikeya Seki, nor an overhead corona IBC 4 aurora, nor a total eclipse, but getting close to fourth place in my experience.

There wasn't a suitable vote button for this choice. It's heaps better than faint fuzzies, and Halley's was definitely in the "what comet?" class :)

DN

[gaa_ian]

In the great Company of the IISAC community at Lostock, the comet is a hands down winner :eyepop:

[Scoper]

Saw the comet last night--spectacular from Dubbo and Wongarbon.I was in Dubbo visiting my daughter. We both saw it and my daughter grabbed her camera and took some shots, the images didn't come out well but the comet was magnificent with the naked eye. As it got darker we could see more of the tail. While driving home to Wongarbon I saw just how large the tail of the comet was, the coma had slipped below the horizon ---but the tail----magnificent under the dark skies out here, almost as good as comet Hyakataki. Yesterday was the only cloudless day here for days and as I work rotating shifts--afternoons and nights. I count myself lucky that i've seen it at all.:thumbsup:

Malcolm

[Thbrowns]

Finally got a break in the clouds last night and tonight (from Mt Mee near Brisbane). All I can say is WOW!!! :eyepop: Lives up to the hype as far as I'm concerned.

[AstroJunk]

I think a year ago I would have rated McN up there near the top, but then I bought my big dob and the skies opened themselves up in gloroius detail.

I love McN, but the tarantula nebula blows it away, well, maybe!

I've likened it to the difference between a wild weekend and a long romance - the latter is ultimately more satisfying, but the former brings a wry smile;)

[jjjnettie]

I like your analogy.
I must be an astrotart because I'm loving this "wild weekend".

[AstroJunk]

As you should - but just remember that when McN is long and gone, you'll be the one left looking after the dobs!

[Blue Skies]

Yes! I will be there! Planning and consideration of needs already in progress! (I read about some people who would like to build an inland highway across the continent from Laverton in WA to somewhere in QLD, that would be great, it would save days off the trip across!)

If any of you haven't seen totality yet, make sure you get to at least one eclipse in your life, then you'll understanding the ravings of committed umbraphiles. :D

[BLiTZWiNG]

I have to second this. Completely overcast every single day, and raining most of them. Even when the satellite photo makes it look like it should be at least partly cloudly, it's still freakin 100% overcast!!!!

I'm really disappointed to have missed out, I can't see the cloud clearing around here any time soon.

[Edit] Case in point, Sat IR photo attached!!!!

[ving]

thorpey says this comet is fully sick! :D

[[1ponders]]

I'm voting for the best thing in the night sky. As for daytime events, I haven't seen a total eclipe (yet ;) ), but the transit of Mercury was a buzz and I'm looking forward to the next transit of Venus.

I would like to see a supernova though, that would be a real kick :eyepop:

[slice of heaven]

Before Saturday night I would've voted somewhere between....Yeah it's OK and What comet

Saturday night we were camped on the beach in the South east for a fishing comp. It was pretty well clouded out but at one point the clouds opened and framed the comet brilliantly. In those totally dark skies the comet stood out in all it's glory, the entire tail was displayed brilliantly.
The best sight I've ever seen in the night sky without a doubt, the group I was with were spellbound until it disappeared, I don't think anyone even thought about their rods or why we were really there while it was on show.

[skies2clear]

From my backyard in Adelaide it was absolutely fantastic. We were lucky it cleared up for an hour or so after raining the last few days, to see easily the best comet I've ever seen by far and 10 degree plus tail!!!! (no binos needed). Can't wait for tonight!
But the Total Solar eclipse in the South -east from the 1970's was something else again.

[mickoking]

When I first heard about Comet McNaught I thought, big deal. It will be a boring little comet only visible in Bino's and only a thrill for the comet aficionados . Happy to say I am dead Wrong :P

[BLiTZWiNG]

Rating on par with seeing Saturn's ringsand the cassini division, as well as jupiters stripes... AWESOME! (specially when you can see it quite clearly with the naked eye.

[MrB]

ROFL! Love the emoticon.
It would be pretty speccy tho!

Roll on 2k12 @ FNQ, spewin' I missed Eucla '02, couldn't afford to travel :(

[g__day]

From Darby Falls and Magellan it looked sensational with the naked eye, and great in binoculars too!

[coffscoast]

Same here on the Coffs Coast. Finally got a break in the clouds, as the sky got darker the tail was just getting longer and wider, amazing sight!

[edosaurus_rex]

All,

It's GREAT that you've got a view of a comet "for the ages".

When Hale-Bopp was visible up here it was fantastic and no doubt spawned some newbies to the hobby that may not have considered it. I like the enthusiasm expressed in the posts just for the visual WOW. When I saw H-Bopp I wasn't thinking about its' perihelion or eccentricity, just WOW!

Ed

[Ziggy Stardust]

like many others I have enjoyed this comet far FAR more than I thought.

I have to rate is as being only just (fractional by a proton width) in second place to the 2002 Eclipse for me.

so my sky life time ratings stand at present:

1. 2002 eclipse and totality. ( god spoke to me and said, get a bigger Scope... and I listened in that darkness that fell around me..

2. comet McNaught, it has been grand and a view that has had my six year old telling his friends everything from how the tail works, to how we going to build a rocket to save the world from it next time round...

3. Mercury transit of 2003. Made me feel small in the universe when that little dot crawled across an angry Sol.

4. watching a metor shower of close to 120 per hour in the middle of the Karoo desert (Africa) back in November 2004. It made the opening attack of War of The Worlds, real to us...

5. my first view of Saturn and all it's rings clear and focused when I got my 6 inch refractor back in ealry 2001. The day I got my astronomy drivers licence and since then the sky has never been safe..

( ps I never got Halleys Comet, just McNaught has eclipsed it by a mile)
and what am I waiting for????, well now it's going to have be my vote for the local Supernova, that is daylight visible... the big daddy bang in our back yard!!! It will need to be super event to get into that top five list..:D

Ziggy Stardust.

[edosaurus_rex]

Ziggy et al,

It's amazing that you listed your top 5. I was going to do the same in my post but decided to keep it brief. Here are my top 5

1. Hale-Bopp
2. Shoemaker-Levy 9 impact marks on Jupiter
3. My first close Mars opposition in 1971
4. Mercury transit Nov 2006
5. A spectacular June Bootid meteor shower I wasn't planning on viewing

I also have a host of WOW deep sky and doubles but this post IS about the McNaught experience.

Clear skies,

Ed

[acropolite]

The only thing I've seen more spectacular was an aurora in the 80's that lit up most of the sky, but given the rarity of comets and the sheer size and naked eye visibility McNaught is tops.

[cometcatcher]

I'm very disappointed about the whole thing thanks to tropical monsoon weather. I have yet to see it and am not likely to for a while yet. I will miss the main performance for sure. But that's how it is in Mackay. It's possible not to see the sun for weeks January-April.

My main interest in astronomy is in comets, so you can guess how I feel about missing the comet I've waited for all of my life. :(

Going by other people's photos and experiences I would have probably rated it number 1. If I'm lucky I'll get a look at it faintly in my 10" dob in a couple of months. Or not.

[dcnicholls]

Top 5? Interesting challange... The order is a bit arbitrary:

1. Overhead IBC4 aurora (corona), May 1970, Saskatchewan
2. Comet Ikeya-Seki in the Canberra pre-dawn sky in October 1965
3. Total eclipse of the Sun, Gippsland, 1976
4. Comet McNaught
5. The night sky, early morning, January 1988, seen from Perisher

And there are others competing, like the Venus transit, my first view of the rings of Saturn, DY Crucis through a 12" GSO, my first view of NGC3532 through a small telescope, Omega Cen through Peter Bobroff's 20"...

To paraphrase an old SBS slogan: "The Universe is an amazing place" :)

DN

[fringe_dweller]

I have seen a lot of comparisons with hyakutake now, and I guess it is like comparing 'apples with oranges' a bit
hyakutake had several things going for it that were missing with this current beauty
1/ as mentioned, it was a much easier target in that you didnt have to deal with horizon cloud/smoke/haze/twilight and it was up in the midnight sky overhead and you could take your sweet time enjoying it - for hours on end, in total darkness
2/ even tho it was only really good/maximum spectacular, for us at this latitude for a very short time, really if you think about it, so was this one
3/ the sky conditions we had for hyakutake, for us here in adelaide, were ridiculously good/maximum possible, and stress free, at the time - so that I would have to factor in, at a personal experience level.
4/ hyakutake had some interesting aspects that I havent got from this one
they would be
a/ the bright naked eye 2 degree wide outer coma was very beautiful, and i found the head/coma to be much more interesting than to p1 (looking past its striking bright intensity for a moment, but Hyakutake was at 0, not too shabby) - telescopically with a superb 13" dob, seeing and transparency was prolly close to 10 out od 10? for the two nights we spent at dark sites. we were under the impression were actually resolving the true nucleus!!!! (we spent a great deal of time observing nucleus)
that is unheard of, and supposedly impossible!
b/ prolly due to its extreme proximity to earth at the time, we got the distinct impression of 3-D ness in the naked eye view, much like when you see a spectacular deep and long lunar eclipse, when the subdued moon looks eerily 3D! I never got this from this one
c/ we were like checking out B2 and then driving around the sky checking out other stuff, and then its oh yeah lets have another look at the giant comet in the sky, it was some of the best sessions ever.
d/ it had a 100d tail with binocs, and about 80d naked eye - technically it had a longer (distinctiveand observable) tail for me.
d/ to observe a 'gas comet' so up close and personal like that is pretty rare, in fact only once in 1000-4000 years is this sort of observation possible
(EDIT: earth viewer favouring tail phase angle as well, and moon free, at its best,i am refering to here) I am not dissing p1, just bringing some balance to the story

[fringe_dweller]

Slice, i hope you werent part of that comp in the south were the king tide swamped all the vehicles!! yikes!
you had a very similar view that night. to what we had by the sounds of it - freaky eh!

[slice of heaven]

Yep, we were expecting the worst, so we claimed a patch of high ground to camp. Though we were expecting some camps elsewhere to get swamped we didn't expect the carnage to be so widespread and cause the loss and damage to hundreds of thousands of $$$ to vehicles and gear that it did.
There were some soggy sights the next morning.




It certainly was :thumbsup:

[fringe_dweller]

hehe - i knew you wouldnt be caught out slice, - but i couldnt help thinking while watching the footage, what kind of self respecting fisherman doesnt know his tides/local conditions inside out!! :shrug: :help: :lol:

[firstlight]

There isn't really an option for how I feel about this comet. I saw Ikea-Seki as a 4 yo, not knowing what it was and thinking it was a rocket. 2 revelations in the next 20 years were (1) It was a comet not a rocket, and (2) If it was a comet int must have been FANTASTIC!!. I have been waiting since then to witness another like it. Comet Hyakutake was the highlight with the ion tail rising like a search beam above the horizon, 25+ tail as it saild by in the night... breathtaking.

As someone once said that any eclipse less than a total is like a kiss from your sister, the total is the real deal. I have to agree. Ceduna 2002 is in my top 5. Venus Transit is there as well, but giving the comets a run for the money is the Leonid storm 2001.

Tony

[Zubenel]

:rofl:NIce use of emoteecons Ron:sadeyes::whistle::eyepop:

But seriously. How could you not rate it higher than ......what??????:shrug:
Absolutely fantasmigorical!!!:party2:

Cheers Zub.