Bright Comet 2020 F8 Swan

[glenc]

Comet 2020 F8 Swan is mag 7 and 4' across now and getting brighter.
I saw it again this morning with 20x80 binoculars and a 12" Dob at 135x.

The attached text file gives the date, time (5am), magnitude, altitude and azimuth of the comet for the next 28 days for my location, Tweed Heads, NSW.
Full Moon is on May 7.

[gaa_ian]

Thanks Glen, at that magnitude it should be pretty easy to find ?

[N1]

It was readily visible in 7x50s next to Gamma Sculptoris a few days ago. Bright in the 8"dob but with no apparent visual tail (yet). Looking forward to the next clear morning.

[JeniSkunk]

I'm not finding it in Stellarium, at all, and I'd only installed the latest desktop release of Stellarium a few days back.
It does show up in Sky Safari, though.

edit: found why Stellarium on Windows desktop does not have the comet
I needed to update the data in the Solar System Editor plugin.

Update walkthrough
I had to learn this just now.

Configuration Window -> Plug-ins tab - Solar System Editor
Load at Startup checkbox should be ticked
" Configure " button

Solar System Editor window -> Solar System tab
" Import orbital elements in MPC format... " button

Import data window
Lists tab
Select type
radio button -> Comets
Select the source
Bookmarks drop list -> MPC's list of observable comets
" Get orbital elements " button

Import data window
" Mark all " button
" Add objects " button

Close windows

[N1]

https://theskylive.com/c2020f8-info

[JeniSkunk]

If I can wake up early enough tomorrow, it should be possible to find.
Where it looks like it will be, in the sky tomorrow morning, is an easy area of the sky, to observe from my patio/balcony. No trees in the way, and pretty well just look straight out over BNE airport.

edit: add screenshots
Stellarium Windows desktop, SkySafari 6 Android
2020-04-27 05:02:18 AEST

[glenc]

At 5 am tomorrow morning (Mon) Comet 2020 F8 Swan will be 10.8 degrees below Fomalhaut, in the 7 o'clock from Fomalhaut position. I have seen it in my 50 mm finder, 20x80 binoculars and 12" Dob.

[glenc]

Chris Wyatt recently found the comet's magnitude to be 7.2 and its size 10'.
He saw a faint tail 22' long using a 10" scope at Walcha, NSW.

[bojan]

Yes.. barely visible from Melbourne light polluted sky with 8x50 binoculars.

[JeniSkunk]

I had no luck at all finding the comet this morning.
Woke up about 3:15am, and was setup and viewing by about 3:45am.
I could find Fomalhaut easily enough in my 25mm eyepiece, but with the light pollution here, could not find the comet.
I was figuring on finding the comet in the 25mm, then switch to the 12mm or 6.5mm for actual viewing.

[N1]

Had a look this morning. It's now about as big and obvious as the major globulars. Managed to detect its tail in the 8" for the first time. This object is now worth getting up for.

[Saturnine]

Managed to drag myself out of a warm bed before dawn this morning to get a look at Comet 2020 F8 Swan. Despite a layer of cloud lower down on the eastern horizon , the comet was easy to find in 13 X 70 binos even as the first glow of dawn was brightening the eastern horizon.
The coma seemed about 8' in diameter and I thought I could detect a faint tail about 1/2 deg long. Current magnitude estimates have it at 5.5 mag.
Certainly worth getting out of bed for and with some more clear mornings forecast I will certainly take the opportunity to observe it again and maybe try and image before it disappears into the dawn twilight over the next week or so.

[GrahamL]

What time and where do i look tommorow ?

[N1]

Tomorrow 3 May it will be due East and 30° above horizon at 5.00am, seen from your place.

[Merlin66]

http://members.westnet.com.au/mmatti/sc.htm


https://cometchasing.skyhound.com/

Around 5:30am

[glenc]

Thanks Ken

[GrahamL]

thanks chaps.

[erick]

Tried Saturday morning - clouded out :sadeyes: Don't despair :thumbsup:

Tried again this morning - lovely clear skies. I tucked myself away behind a wind break building with a clear view to the East over the Pacific and found it quite quickly in my 20x80 binoculars. Very distinctive. No colour (when's the next visibly green comet coming our way?). Averted vision brought out a clear tail.

I couldn't see it naked eye, directly or with averted vision.

Thanks for the links and directions Glen.

[GrahamL]

Flat rock .. 5.20 am onwards couldnt find it with 8 x 42 .. no light pollution down there but thought 5.00 am might of been better dawn was well on its way when I got there .

[mental4astro]

Has SWAN developed a second tail?

I managed a sketch of SWAN this morning. Took one of my 8" f/4 dobbies across the road to the park which as a better eastern view than my back yard. As I sketched it, a number of times I thought I caught a glimpse of a second gas tail peeling off to the left of the main tail - left on my sketch. SWAN had a very pale bluish-green hue to it too.

I didn't put it on the sketch as I just wasn't confident enough with my observation. This glimpse was just too "lean", but it kept appearing always in the same location off the coma next to the main tail. It was also much shorter than the main tail, and curved away from the main tail as I indicated in the modified sketch. I'm hoping pics from this morning can shed some more light on this.

Below is the sketch I did, plus a modified one showing the location and rough shape of that tenuous second gas tail.

Comet C/2020 F8 (SWAN)
8" f/4 dobbie, 10mm XW, 80X
Sketch is approx whole field of view.
4th of May, 2020, 5am local time
Heffron Park, Sydney, Oz
Soft pastel on black A4 paper

Alex.

[glenc]

This image was taken by Gerald Rhemann on 03 May 2020 at UT 03h20m from Namibia.

http://www.astrostudio.at/2_Bright%20Comets.php?img=images%2F 2_Bright%20Comets%2F549_2020F8_03_0 5.jpg&fbclid=IwAR1oidSIL6YnLIGh1IFDlEC0l3 kDEcJXzNwLrYmR7FnjhV5HDqS-S9aXJ3I

[taminga16]

Could someone please put together a simple viewing guide hand drawn chart etc for the layman. I work for an elderly couple who struggle with mobile 'phones, but show them a sheep. Thanks. Greg.

[Merlin66]

Greg,the Comet Chasing site has an easy finder chart for the Comet.
https://cometchasing.skyhound.com/
Just down the page 2020/ F8 look for the link to the finder chart on the right hand side.

[WarpedSpacer]

Hi


I have an issue re sky aligning my scope (CPC Celestron 8 inch) could anyone assist me. Im trying to put in the coordinates manually and for some reason it wont go to enter after i key in the numbers. My GPs doesnt seem to be working. Hope its OK me posting here but Ive waited so long for a clear sky since my scope arrived

[N1]

Hi Claude, I can't help you with your particular mount but if your telescope has a finder scope, just slew to it manually using the finder. The one on my photo scope is just a 6x30 and shows the comet no problem.

[doppler]

The comet has a long ion tail , and it now looks like it's starting to develop a gas tail which should make things interesting.
Rick

[Rainmaker]

Tomorrow it should be near the middle of a triangle formed by NGC145, 113 & 161 adjacent to the 5.7mag 12Cetus

[WarpedSpacer]

Hi Mirko. Thanks for your reply. I think I have sorted the problem. My error as it turns out. Thanks again for your response


Regards


Claude

[Rainmaker]

I spent the night social distancing at Tidbinbilla, west of Canberra. Lunar views till 11pm with 6" refractor, then a few hours of sleep before comet viewing from 4am with the 18" Excalibur. An impressive sight now, the tail has now brightened up markedly.

Four moderately bright meteors and two dozen very bright Starlinks.