C/2007 W1 Boattini

[Outbackmanyep]

Hey peoples!

Keep an eye on this one! I would encourage anyone to image this comet as it comes in.
I estimated it on Monday night to be around mag 10.0 - 10.5, its sporting a small tail to the north-west! The bright star was Gamma Corvi.

Quite an easy target, in Corvus, i imaged it with my Canon 400D and 8" SCT. 5 min exp @ 1600 ISO @ f/10. A bit grainy but its only a single image.

Will post finder chart shortly!
Observations are strongly encouraged!!!!

Cheers! :thumbsup:

[Outbackmanyep]

Finder chart here:

http://www.cometchasing.skyhound.com/comets/2007_W1.gif

Cheers!

[rogerg]

ahh, nice... I'll take a look at it for sure :thumbsup:

[Rob_K]

Nice one OBMY, thanks! :thumbsup: I managed to (barely) image it at about mag 13 on 2 March, and had earmarked this weekend to have another shot. The ephemeris at MPC has it just a touch under mag 11 then, but I gather from your obs it is a little brighter. It all helps, LOL! Can't wait till June!!

Cheers -

[Matty P]

Nicely done and thanks for posting.

I will be definitely have a look at it and maybe even imaging it.

[astroron]

In the 16" tonight it looked about mag 10 -11.
Monday night it was quite noticably moving in only a couple of hours.
Also had a look at 2008 C1 Chen-Goa and 46P wirtanen in low down in Auriga.
Both quite faint.
Ron

[middy]

I had a go at imaging it last night. I couldn't make it out with the 10 x 50 binos from the suburbs.

100 x 30 secs, DSI Pro + 70-300mm lens @ 150 mm mounted on a scotch mount.

Quick and dirty processing done in Iris.

It was about one hour from starting the first image to finishing the last image. It looks like there was some comet movement in that time (or maybe it is just my processing).

[Ric]

Thanks for the heads up OBMY, I will add this one to the list.

Cheers

[Outbackmanyep]

Nice work :thumbsup: , it will be interesting to see how this comet performs, i don't want to get too encouraged but its really hard NOT TO! Keep the images coming! If the brightening trend continues then its more than likely going to reach naked eye mag under dark skies, mag 3.8 is the latest max brightness estimate. Good to see some more people taking on the comet obs, its very encouraging!
I can see this comet is producing a lot of dust, and its about 0.6 AU away from us. Quite close!!!!!

Cheers!

[CoombellKid]

I happen to check this one out in the 8" last night rather faint in the 8" but definitely doable.

Top shot mate!

regards,CS

[CoombellKid]

I was going to have a go at those twoas they came up in Starry Night.
But their location for me was getting into the distance light dome of
Casino and glose to the horizon.

regards,CS

[Karlsson]

Had a look at it just now as it was at 62° alt... bit of a googly now with TYC 6098-875-1 (mag 11) shining right through it. But as Rob said, definitely doable in 8". We'll keep one eye on it...

[Terry B]

I took some photos last night but didn't try to look through the eyepiece at it. It is still prety dim. The mag 11 star near it is vastly brighter. Similar on the CCD to mag 13 stars near by but I haven't measured its flux yet. (and can't till I get home tonight:shrug:)

[Outbackmanyep]

Hey guys, last night (3/4/08) i estimated a mag of 9.8, and dia of 4.9'. Yes that other star in the field made it a little difficult but it took me nearly 10 mins of observing using VSS method to pin down a comparable star. Made my hand guiding/imaging much easier in amongst all those "bright" stars!!!

I also got some more piccies but havent processed them yet.

Would you believe that i was that tired that i fell off my observing chair and almost onto my telescope around 11pm !!!! After that i called it a night.......

Thanks for that Terry! Will be keen to see your image when you get it done! :thumbsup:

[Rob_K]

Had a shot at it tonight with my crude gear - Canon 400D piggybacked on my little Tasco, hand guiding with slow motion controls on a SW EQ1 mount! Anyway did get something but really needed longer exposures & more subs (the lens dewed up & I couldn't be bothered doing any more, LOL!).

In this shot, the little dim star just above the comet is USNO J120753-175131, mag 11.7 according to SN. So it still seems fairly dim...

Maybe next new moon with my gear...:rolleyes: :whistle:

Cheers -

[middy]

Good work Rob. :thumbsup: It's moved a fair bit in the two days since I imaged it. ~ 1 degree.

[peeb61]

Hi All,
I had a go at this comet last night, I used the same settings as 'Outbackmanyep' (thanks for that.) But autoguided with a DSI for
just over 6 min.

Image taken 9.30pm 5/4/08

Here is the result.

Paul

[Terry B]

Dear Chris et al
I have finally processed some images I took of this comet on Thursday night.
The first file is a stack of 4 x 300 sec exposures through a lum filter.
The second image is just 1 of these images but analised with astrometrica.
It gives a report as

TEL VC200L + CCD
NET USNO-A2.0
CK07W010 V2008 04 03.40318 12 10 19.78 -17 41 52.5 13.5 N 247
The upshot of this is a machine mag of 13.5
This is probably a bit low as I can't sample the entire coma as astrometrica will only let me use a 30 pixel circle to measure the total flux. I can post the fit file if anyone else can analyze it.

[Outbackmanyep]

Great images guys! Well done! I'll email ASV comet section to show them a link to this thread.

Last night i made the comet out at mag 9.5 and coma dia at 5.5'

Heres a link to describe how cometary magnitudes are obtained visually:
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/icq/ICQMM.html

I use the VSS method to make my obs.

Cheers!

[Outbackmanyep]

Heres my image from the 4th April, its a cropped image of a single 5 minute exposure @ f/10 through my 8" SCT, at ISO 1600 with 400D (N/R ON). I just played around with curves, midtones and contrast. I might try it with NR OFF next time to see if i can make the post processing a little easier to deal with in terms of image fiddling!

It looks yucky but the comet is the only thing i'm interested in.

Cheers!

[anthony.tony]

we got a look at it last night at the CWAS dark sky sight just out of Parkes NSW,I picked it in my GSO 12inch dob with 30mm and 21mm ed eyepiece. John Sarkissian viewed it in his 8 inch F6 EQ reflecor with 22mm eyepiece.The date was the 5/4/2008 . It was not a good night for faint things .We noticed a lot of smoke coming from the South as we drove to the viewing site from canowindra.We got onto comet tuttle up near the LMC.We had a go at comet Skiff in virgo but I think we ended up thinking hte M61 was it.I think it is alot dimmer than my planetary program said it was. Peter canon -Clive Ward - L Crowley - Mgrimshaw Viewed the comets as well. Tony

[Rob_K]

Nice images guys! These will be good as part of a record of its brightening & movement over the next couple of months.

Here's mine from the 4th, reprocessed in Registax rather than DSS - much better, but still need it a bit brighter with my gear. Bright star is gamma Corvi.

Keep them coming! :thumbsup:

Cheers -

[Outbackmanyep]

For those of you with dark skies, i found W1 with 7x50 binoculars last night. Quite an easy object if you know where to look!

I made it out at mag 8.8, and dia of 8' approx.

Cheers!

[Terry B]

How Chris? We've had continuous cloud and pathetic rain. Your further east where the cloud is coming from. You must have had a lucky sucker hole.:thumbsup:

[Karlsson]

Here in suburban Sydney I could see in in my 8" Newt last night, but only just...ZLM about 5.3 as I could just see HR4590 naked eye.

Tonight at 22:00: RH=80%, dew everywhere, eta Crt (5.2) is invisible, and the comet is a no show. It will be a while here before my binos catch it...

[Outbackmanyep]

Would you believe Terry that its foggy here at home, but i drove 20kms west, to the top of Walcha Road hill and its clear as........i nabbed C/2007 B2 Skiff as well tonight, not far from W1.

8P is still around mag 8.5, W1 is 8.7, and B2 is about 12th mag and 1.5' dia.

8P and W1 are well within reach of 7x50's under dark skies! :thumbsup:

[glenc]

Here is a map from SkyMapPro showing the comet's weekly position at 9pm on Friday nights. It should be magnitude 5.5 in mid June. It is 2 degrees above NGC 4038 at 9pm tonight.

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi Glen,
I did notice what looked like a planetary nebula next to the comet on the 7th i think, i wasn't sure what it was, is NGC 4038 a galaxy or a PN? My SkyMap Pro doesnt give me the NGC catalogue as i don't have the original data disc when i installed the program. I can update comet ephemerides but not access NGC objects (which doesnt bother me at all!)

Hows the weather treating you up there in Casino???

Cheers!

[GrahamL]

thanks glen I was looking for a map:thumbsup:

4038/39 are galaxys obm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antennae_Galaxies

4361 may of been what you were looking at ,its a a weird shaped thing in the eyepiece :)
http://seds.org/~spider/ngc/ngc.cgi?4361.html

[Antares]

Observed this in Western Australia roughly 200km south of Perth in a place called Wellington Mills on the 5/6th of April. Another astronomer found it by accident looking for the Antennae Galaxies. Its a nice comet and on the 6th (Saturday) it was quite close to the Attenae. Also in the area spotted 3 other galaxies (4029,4033 and another). Haven't found it since but we have some clear nights here in Bunbury so will look for it again this weekend!

[Outbackmanyep]

G'Day Antares!
Sounds awesome! Were you imaging the Antennae at all? Would have made a nice rendezvous piccy! :thumbsup:

Cheers!

[Outbackmanyep]

Thanks Nightstalker! 4361 is indeed what i saw in the eyepiece!!!! I can really understand first hand what Messier went through and why he catalogued a lot of sky objects in his quest for comets!!!! Sometimes its hard to fathom what Messier felt during his lifetime looking at the night sky! :) Not much has changed really!

[Rob_K]

Things are looking up! The BAA Comet Section is now proposing mag 2 for Boattini if the present rate of brightening keeps up. They had it mag 8.5 on 16 April. Click on the "Highlights" link:

http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~jds/#hilites

Cheers -

[Outbackmanyep]

I made W1 out tonight at mag 8.2, dia 8', brilliant skies here tonight!

[fringe_dweller]

pity about the moon during its best evening jaunt :rolleyes: aint that the way,
i dont understand the mag +2 prediction tho? it isnt running that far ahead of projected brightness atm, not even a whole mag diff :shrug:
sure is a classic southerner/mexican comet tho :)

[astroron]

I observed it tonight in the 16", it didn't seem much different than my last observation a couple of weeks ago.
I think it's got to do something spectacular to brighten to the predicted mag?
Ron

[Rob_K]

Yes, hard to work out the mag 2 prediction.:shrug: Cloudy and rainy here for days, but maybe there'll be a break mid-week.

Cheers -

[Outbackmanyep]

They use formulas to predict a possible brightness peak, depending on what parameters are used. Due to the rapid brightness increase they use a formula to best fit the observations, they are predicting that by using formula: m = 6.5m + 5×log D + 19×log r, the comets predicted brightness, if the trend continues, will be around mag 2.0. But only further observations will decide exactly what magnitude it will be....as David Levy says "Comets are like cats; they have tails, and do what they want"

[fringe_dweller]

so why bother having that thar fancy pants formulae for predicting the unpredictable then? :eyepop: :poke: :)

[Greg Bryant]

It's not just a "rapid" brightness increase. The comet is now becoming visible in smaller apertures.

As the comet gets brighter, observations through telescopes (and ultimately binoculars) of smaller aperture tend to rate the comet as much brighter, compared to observations from weeks earlier through larger telescopes - and even brightness estimates the same night in a larger telescope.

It's fairly well documented - on a given night, binoculars and small telescopes will appear to show a comet brighter than through a larger telescope.

Of course, when the comet is at its brightest, we'll tend to observe it through the smallest aperture available (unaided eye -> binoculars -> small telescope). So, we're more interested in what the brightness estimates are from those small apertures.

What will be interesting in the next few weeks is to follow the comet's brightness as measured by observers using binoculars and small telescopes. That will provide a better indication of what to expect in June and July.

...fortunately I have 4 more weeks before the July/August issue of Australian Sky & Telescope magazine goes to print - so we might be able to better forecast the comet's peak brightness by then.

Regards,
Greg

[Rob_K]

Weather cleared tonight, so managed a shot of Boattini. So much brighter than a month ago.

This shot is a stack of 3 x 180 sec subs taken with piggybacked Canon 400D at 55mm, ISO 1600, F/4. Hand-guided using slow-motion controls on EQ1 mount, and NexImage through Tasco 4.5" f8 reflector. Stacked in Registax.

Note the carbon star (HIP 53085) above the comet.

Cheers -

[Outbackmanyep]

Nice shot Rob! I got tripod trail images tonight, and i took a pic through my 8" SCT last night, which i havent posted. Looks really nice!! Good stuff! I estimated visually a mag of 7.8, and Dia of 11.5', through my 10" f/5 dob @ x31. I did notice that red star in my trail image but i thought it must have been a hot pixel, but then again...pixels dont trail do they!! Interesting!!!
Thanks for pointing that out! Cheers! :thumbsup:

[Ric]

Lovely capture Rob, both the comet and the carbon star look spectacular.

Cheers

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi guys, heres a 60 sec exp, Canon 400D, ISO 1600, 168mm @ f/5.
Just lightened midtones and adjusted contrast a little, the comet and carbon star are quite noticeable hey!

cheers!

[fringe_dweller]

ahh could be a bit of that, ive read outlandish predictions on BAA site before tho,
I see some are sayin 3.5 - 4 max that I could believe easy, mag 2 is a LOT brighter than 3.5, as everybody knows :) i dont think i am splitting hairs saying that either :D
cheers!

[fringe_dweller]

awesome work guys :thumbsup: :thumbsup: keep 'em coming

[Outbackmanyep]

I would also like to point out that if the comet does get brighter it will be harder to make brightness estimates using binoculars that do not have sufficient back-focus to use the VSS method of making brightness estimates if the coma grows sufficiently larger.
In the case of 17P / Holmes brightening i noticed that experienced observers resorted to using opera glasses to make VSS methods possible due to large coma size.
I might have to get to know my binoculars a bit better over the next few weeks to get used to making brightness and coma dia. estimates. :)

[astroron]

I observed Comet Boattini last night and it looked a lot better than my last observation:)I must make a confession, Most of my observations have been using a 13 mm Nagler in the 16",at 140x mag spreads out the light so making the Comet seem duller:(last night I used a 30mm Plossl and it was a much brighter looking object:)
Ron

[Deeno]

Finally sat down and worked out how to upload data into the Argo Navis so I could hunt down this comet.
After a couple of looks in my light polluted backyard using my new TV 13mm Nagler, I was surprised how dim this object is. It seemed to be barely a smudge really. No wonder I couldn't find it before!
After reading this thread, perhaps I may be better served using the 24mm Panoptic or even the GSO 32mm Superview?

Cheers
Deeno

[Outbackmanyep]

Wider fields always make a dim object brighter, a lot of comet observers do their mag estimates by binoculars, but of course this is not always the way to observe them. With my 10" dob i use a 40mm plossl with homemade reticle built in to help me make coma diameter estimates and this works fine, a larger aperture always helps but using the lowest power practicable!

I hope that you Deeno, and Astroron, that you have a fun time observing this over the next few months! :thumbsup: Cheers!

[WadeH]

Just come in after looking at Comet Boattini through the 30X100 binos. Easily found using Starry Night and a hand drawn finder chart. Appears as a large fairly bright smuge. No sign of a nucleus.
Had to hand hold the binos as it is so close to the zenith, interesting excercise.

The 10X50's could just pick it out.

[Outbackmanyep]

I made the comet out at mag 6.9 last night, tried to get an unaided sighting but was not successful, i did however manage to work out my Limiting Magnitude to mag 6.9 using averted vision, the comet is large and fuzzy, im guessing it wont be naked eye in dark skies until it reaches 6.5 or less.....

Cheers!

[Rob_K]

Observed the comet several times last week in very dark skies, using 12x50 binoculars. Was amazed at how large it looked, a big, bright dusty ball. No sign of nucleus. Looking forward to next month...;)

Cheers -

[glenc]

The attached SkyMapPro map shows Boattini at 10pm from 10/5 to 8/6.

[Liz]

Found comet easily last night in my new 11x70 binoculars. Surprised at how large it was, diffuse and fainter than I though it would be, though sky not yet totally dark after Moonset. Couldnt find it with scope, then ran outa patience. A beautiful binocular sight though.:)

[Outbackmanyep]

Keep viewng it under moonlight too! The moonlight will drown out the outer coma regions but the central regions should still be quite visible in binoculars and telescopes.
I managed to glimpse it naked eye using averted vision on the 8th May, but it was rather close to mag 6 stars in the field and i didnt want to make it public until other reports came in.

Keep looking! :thumbsup:

[Outbackmanyep]

W1 is quite hard to pick out amongst the moonlight but its brightening still, well into the 6.5 to 6.0 region.

[Outbackmanyep]

Hey guys, i made W1 out at mag 5.5 last night with my 7x50 bins, DC= 3 and dia of about 15'. The coma size is actually quite large but moonlight washed out the fainter outer coma region. No tail still.
Should be a nice sight when the moon buggers off!

Cheers!

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi Guys n gals! I made more obs tonight!

FINALLY NAKED EYE under dark skies using averted and sometimes direct vision!!!!!

m1= 5.3; dia= 25'; DC= 4.5; 7x50 bins; obs made from Walcha Aerodrome @ 9:45 UT; 25th May 2008. Visual Limiting mag= 6.9.

[Karlsson]

What a difference darkness makes - when I estimated its size last night here in the suburbs with my 8" newt I got to 16', and that was being generous... This comet does respond well to UHC-E filtering though - that's the good news....

[Terry B]

From last night it had an ion tail. See my pic here (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=32271).

[Deeno]

Had a peek at it tonight and it has brightened considerably since the last time I observed it three weeks ago!

[Rob_K]

Observed it at around 6:30pm (UT+10) on 22, 23 and 24 May. Faint naked eye visibility on 22nd, easy naked eye (direct vision) on 23rd under brilliant skies, and difficult naked eye on 24th. Observed from Deptford, Gippsland, Vic under dark skies (remote location, no nearby settlement), but just shows that even in these locations transparency can vary considerably. Great views in binoculars (12x50) on all nights.

Pic attached, showing movement of comet over the three nights. Composite put together from stacks of 16x10sec subs taken with Canon 400D on tripod, shooting at 55mm.

[WadeH]

Just come inside after a nice half hour observing Boattini through the 30X100's.
Both the nucleus and coma readilly seen and bright but no sign of a tail yet, maybe the Perth skyglow to the SW is affecting this. Amazing how far its moved over the past month.
This comet watching is addictive, a few years back I woudnt have thought twice about observing, now if there is one out there I must go and get the binos!

[glenc]

I looked at Boattini last night with 12x60s and my 12". I couldn't see it naked eye but it was easy to see in my 50mm finder. I didn't see any tail with the 12".

[fringe_dweller]

lucky i attempted my first dark sky site NE viewing of this comet (i am still in self imposed minimal observing effort mode for a urban dweller for a year or two) last night at the end of a day/evening trip down Fleurieu Peninsula, as the clouds have come rolling in just now, and the moons back by end of week, was certainly a little marginal NE not a glaringly obvious little ne comet, altho it had it moments, but an easy averted vision object for sure, - more condensed 8P in early jan was easier ne object at mag 6, than this one which i roughly found to be around mag 5.4 - 5.5 and close to half a degree in dia. ne when at best, W1 moved nearly 2 deg since my view on sat night. 16th? ne comet for me i think :) and yes its not an urban ne comet, but as they say, you cant be half pregnant?
further down the road, tried for first time, the made famous locally on net by P1 in jan 2007, DSS at Myponga reservoir, at top of Myponga hill at 400mtrs or so, wow amazing how good that is so close to southern burbs aldinga ect., elevation, even a little, rules! and a hill blocking the LP too

[Rob_K]

Nice to see a few people are viewing this one. :) It's heading down into the skyglow from town at my place now, but still great in binoculars.

Here's some images from tonight. Taken with piggy-backed Canon 400D, hand-guided with slow-motion controls on EQ1 mount. First is a Registax stack aligned on the comet head, second is a DSS stack.

The comet is moving fast now - here's a link to a short animation I put together of its movement over 40 minutes tonight:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWw0kAZfwc0

Registration's not great...:P

Cheers -

[edwardsdj]

That's a great animation over 40 minutes Rob!

[Rob_K]

Thanks Doug - movement appears to be about 3.5' to 4' over that time.

Cheers -

[Liz]

Nice on Rob, enjoyed the animation.

[fringe_dweller]

been enjoying your widefields Rob! I am partial to wf's - i am so glad i didnt miss the boat-a-tini eyeball wise, nyuck nyuck :D

[Outbackmanyep]

Nice one Rob! Good stuff!!!!!!!

I have been making a little calendar for W1, closest approach to Earth is on 13th June @ 0.21 AU, and comes to Perihelion on the 23rd of June @ 0.85 AU. The good news is, we should see this comet in the early morning throughout its perihelion passage!!! The bad news is, the moonlight will stuff it up!!!! I made it out last night visually @ mag 4.6. So it's still brightening! (no tail observed)

[kiwidoc66]

Thanks for the thread - I found the comet last night about 20 degrees above western horizon in Christchurch - I'm impressed that there are naked-eye observers - it looks faint to me even through 200mm (maybe I'm looking at the wrong object...)

[glenc]

I thought there was a short very faint tail last night, about 20' long.
(Used a 21mm EP on the 12" Dob to look at it.)

[Marko of Oz]

Finally got a look at this baby tonight with the 10*50's. Can't pick it up naked eye with the skyglow from Rocky on my western horizon but really easy to pick up in the binoculars. No tail visible but maybe the hint of bright core + coma.
nice to see
:thumbsup:

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi Guys!
Heres an image from tonight!
Canon 400D and Sigma lens, 300mm @ f/5.6, 180 sec exp, ISO 1600, piggybacked on my 8" Celestron Ultima PEC!
I noticed a small tail @ the 10 o'clock position! YAY!
Cheers!

[Ric]

That's a great image OBMY, it's looking great now.

Cheers

[Matty P]

Amazing image OBMY. :thumbsup:

What is the current magnitude of Comet Boattini?

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi all, my last observation the comet was at mag 4.8. So it's well within reach of binoculars and even naked eye, although the moon will affect naked eye viewing from here on in, it reaches closest approach to EARTH around 13th June. Then it will rise in the dawn sky at sunrise around 14th/15th and rise approx 15 to 20 mins earlier each day........
We will see this comet early in the morning throughout its perihelion passage on the 23rd June, this will also be moon affected....

[Outbackmanyep]

Observation from last night under moonlight m1= 4.6; Dia= 12'; DC= 5; 7x50 binoculars, the diameter estimate was hard to measure due to moonlight interference, but otherwise it's still bright! Couldn't see it naked eye due to moonlight and proximity to Western horizon (atmospheric extinction)

[rhisaac]

Hi, anyone got a updated spotters guide of where to find this one. I was using my 10" Dob last night but I think I was looking in the wrong area. Thanks!!

[glenc]

It is about 2 degrees to the lower right of delta Lep tonight and sets before 7pm here.

[Outbackmanyep]

Hey all!
I managed to view W1 last night from Walcha! It was very VERY windy here yesterday and last night it nearly blew me off the hill i was observing from.
I had to park the Hilux into the wind and either sit in the drivers seat and look through the windscreen at it with the bins or i opened the top half of the rear canopy doors and use the glass as a shield from the wind! Anyways...i got my obs in, i first spotted W1 @ 5:50pm EST and made my obs at 6:15pm!
m1= 4.2; Dia= 15'; DC= 5; 7x50 binoculars, no tail seen, moonlight affected naked eye viewing and i was unable to make it out naked eye being so close to the horizon as well!
W1 will set around 7pm tonight! It made closest approach to Earth yesterday and perihelion is not until the 23rd of June when it will be in the morning sky!
I did take some tripod pics last night through the rear canopy glass, it is a bit wobbly but it was blowing a gale!!!! I'll post a pic later today!

[Liz]

Went out last evening, but too light with twilight/moonlight, no sign of comet, even with binoculars. Canis Major was low on horizon - had views of Sirius and Beta ... Canis Major, and comet should have been below these in Lepus ........ but too light. Then they all sunk into the trees :(

[rhisaac]

Thanks!! Here's to finding it tonight ....

[Rob_K]

Getting harder to see now as it sinks into the twilight. Still just OK in binocs but visually nothing like what it was a week or two ago.

Here's a shot from last night, late in twilight. Canon 400D on tripod, 15 sec at ISO 1600, F/5, 43mm in 18-55mm kit lens. Have included extra thumb showing position of comet, just a greenish dot.

Cheers -

[rhisaac]

Found it! My first comet found through my telescope. It was really hard with twilight and the moon but found a green dot in the eyepiece .... very very happy!!! Thanks for all the tips on this site! :D

[Kevnool]

Now i,m going out on a limb here so correct me, tommorow 16/06/08 is the last chance to observe this comet till it returns from behind the sun ( if it dont disintergrate ) in the early morning skys at a later date??.....cheers Kev.

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi there Kevnool!
The comet won't disappear behind the sun to us but will be too close the sun along our line-of-sight as it passes between earth and the sun. The comet reached its closest approach to Earth on the 13th June, and will reach perihelion on the 23rd June. It will be moving away from us as we speak but during its perihelion passage it should be visible in our morning skies and well placed for observing. We probably wont get a good look at it until the morning of the 16th when it will rise around 5:05am. Astro twilight doesn't begin until about 5:28 am on the 16th. The moon will ruin things once again too!

Go to here: http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=C%2F2007%20W1;orb=1;c ov=0;log=0#orb

There you will get an idea of the comets path in relation to Earths. The comet will probably not begin to show a nice tail until perihelion and after. So we should only lose it for 2 days at least due to the suns glare.

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi all! Heres a couple of pics i took which i said i'd post!
These were taken under very windy conditions, in as much as i had to use the Hilux to shield the breeze, otherwise the camera and tripod would have nearly been blown over!

The first shot taken with the Canon 400D, 70mm @ f/4, 50 sec exp, ISO 1600
The 2nd shot was with the Canon 400D, 76mm, f/4, 15 seconds, ISO 1600...the reflections are that of the rear canopy window of the Hilux (flipped up) that i was using to shield the camera from the wind!

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi rhisaac! Well done! It does take a while to find it! When you see more comets you'll begin to "see" what comets look like, it'll make those fainter ones a little easier to distinguish!

The first comet i ever saw was 1P/ Halley in 1986 and i'll never forget it!

[Outbackmanyep]

I have been waiting for the clouds to piss off! Apparently the DC= 7 and mag around 4.2 from other observers.......bugger off you frickin cloud! Throw me a frickin bone!

[Matty P]

Is it still possible to observe Comet Boattini in the evening?

:shrug:

[glenc]

No, the comet is only 1 degree above the horizon at sunset tonight here.

[cookie8]

Anyone successfully observed this comet in the early hours yet?

[Outbackmanyep]

I had observed the comet last week in the early hours but cloud ruined my obs for the last 5 days, one report from this morning was the comet seems to be fading, no tail visually, but its proximity to the moon is not helping matters.
Hopefully the next few mornings will be clear.

The comet reaches perihelion today, and it will be worth watching until it fades away!
The comet will rise around 4am approx. and should be visible at 5am higher in the ENE sky

Cheers!

[CoombellKid]

cookie8,

Starry Night tell me it will be 35 degree above the horizon at sunrise
tomorrow. So should be an easy early morning target, it rises around
3:52am.

regards,CS

[erick]

Would anyone help with an updated chart of its location over the next week or so? Thanks.

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi Erick!
go here: http://www.skyhound.com/cometchasing/comets/2007_W1.gif

Cheers!

[erick]

Great, thanks! Now to wake up early!

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi guys! I saw the comet this morning, under moonlight, made it out at mag 4.4; dia= 15' and DC= 5. The coma is quite strongly condensed although no pseudo nucleus found! Not even through my 10" dob @ x31. No tail observed and was not naked eye under moonlight.!

Cheers!

[Liz]

Well done OBM, thought of comet at 0500 hrs, but couldnt get head off pillow. Maybe tomorrow :rolleyes:

[Outbackmanyep]

Hey guys!
Heres a cropped piccy i took this morning, my visual obs was done under clear skies, then all this high cloud rolled through when taking tripod pics.

[Matty P]

A nice capture OBM, well done.

What time was the image shot at?

[CometGuy]

Saw this one 2 mornings ago, and didn't bother estimating it as there was bright twilight and moonlight. Judging on how easy it was to see in binoculars under those conditions I would think mag 4.5 would be about right. I made some images but only the vaguest suggestion of tail. I might try tommorrow morning :)

[Outbackmanyep]

About 5am, i was making visual estimates around 4:45am EST. Im taking the C8 out in the morning to get a decent tracked image of it and see what it picks up, the moon is bloody annoying though!

I have a few more i want to image, C/2008 A1 is around mag 9.5, confirmed by at least 3 other observers! But it will have to wait until i get back from Sydney this weekend!
:thumbsup:

[StephenM]

I saw it for the first time at 5 am this morning. Easily visible in binoculars. I've just posted a couple of images in the Solar System Image forum.

Cheers,
Stephen

[citivolus]

Nice clear skies just now, the comet was visible easily in binoculars and also just visible naked eye with the moon blocked by the roof on my deck. I have no experience with cometary magnitude estimates, so I won't go there :)

[pneuman]

I had a look for it this morning between 5:30-6:30, but I couldn't seem to spot it using the 8x50 finderscope on my dob (don't have binoculars, unfortunately). I'm in the middle of suburbia, though, and my view to the East (which, from what I could tell, is where I should have been looking -- I'm still pretty new to all of this!) is particularly blocked, both by trees and buildings, and by the fact that I'm at the bottom of a hill.

Should suburban skies be okay for spotting it, as long as the view isn't obstructed?

[glenc]

It was easy to see with 20x80 binoculars this morning, and I wasn't dark adapted.

[StephenM]

Hi All,

Took this image of the comet from dark skies on the Granite belt near Girraween NP on Saturday morning (28th June). Easily visible in 10x50 binocs., despite the nearby moon. Minus 5 deg C at the time!

Cheers,
Stephen

[Outbackmanyep]

Hey guys!
I i got a few images of W1 tonight, will process more later.

I finally got to image a nice tail on the comet :D, piggybacked and prime focus (f/6.3) through my 8" Celestron Ultima.

Wide angle photo = 300mm sigma lens, 3 min exp, ISO 1600
Prime focus = 2 mins @ f/6.3, ISO 1600

Cheers!

[Liz]

Wow!! :eyepop: Gorgeous pics, and tail very clear, well done. I also checked it out this am in binoculars. Took few pics but nothing compared to yours:rolleyes:

[glenc]

Thanks for the images. I saw Boattini this morning with 7x50s.

[Matty P]

Wonderful images OBM. The tail really stands out.

Thanks for posting. :thumbsup:

[iceman]

I saw Boattini this morning at Nambucca, naked eye (just), and easily visible through the finderscope.

Got some images through the ED80 will post later hopefully.

[fringe_dweller]

that little bit of recent solar activity perked her up a bit, same as last time it had a little photographic tail, BRING BACK SOLAR MAX NOW even the tiddlers were fun - i'm starting a petition!!
nice one peeps!

[cookie8]

Well done OBM. Looks nice & bright with the 300mm. Would like to give it a go with my piggy-back 300mm kit lens next morning or so. What is the best time to see it you recken?
:screwy:Vincent

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi Vincent, Your best bet would be around 4 am when it will be high enough to see it easily, you'll need a dark site to see it naked eye!
The comet is fading in mag so get out while you can!

Cheers!

[iceman]

Here are my morning images of Boattini so far.

First one from the 29th. I only got 5 exposures before the morning twilight turned the images blue. I slept through the alarm and started late :( No flats :( ICNR darks.

Second two from this morning, 1st July. First one is 11 exposures but unfortunately I forgot to change the settings from small jpeg to RAW :( No flats, ICNR darks. The third is 6 exposures in RAW. Flats + ICNR darks.

All exposures are 1 minute.

I can see a hint of tail (extending to about the 1:30'oclock position) but my laptop shows things brightly so you may not see them.

Tomorrow morning i'll try and get everything working correctly and take many more exposures and try to get the tail to show more.

[Liz]

Nice pics Mike - in the 2nd one the tail looks quite long - using averted vision, yeh :D

[Outbackmanyep]

Nice images Mike! :thumbsup: They look pretty good!

I was clouded out this morning, i set up last night at 11pm then slept in the car, made visual obs of the comet at 3:20am then cloud ruined the rest of the morning! :sadeyes:

Cheers!

[Rob_K]

Nice shots Mike, I can just make out the ion trail! :thumbsup: Still cloudy/rainy here, and I haven't had a chance to observe it since it re-appeared in our morning skies...

Cheers -

[iceman]

Thanks guys.

More shots from this morning..
Finally this morning I got everything right to image Comet Boattini - no jpegs, no moon distractions and I was up early enough to start imaging it while it was low down.

Here are two images from the same data set, stacked differently (one add, one median).

12x 3 minute exposures @ ISO800, ICNR, flats calibrated. Shot using my Canon 350D, ED80, guided using a DMK.

I was very happy to see the ion tail reveal itself during processing.

1200px wide versions at my gallery:
Comet Boattini C/2007 W1 (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/mygallery/displayimage.php?pos=-726)
Comet Boattini C/2007 W1 (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/mygallery/displayimage.php?pos=-725)

Thanks for looking.

[DistroMan]

Am I to understand that we won't have Boattini in the southern skies for much longer, and if so, where and when do I look for it before it does dissapear? :help:

[cookie8]

Lovely pics Mike. You must be the first to capture the tail in Australia. Next the dust tail!
:eyepop:Vincent

[cookie8]

Here is a finder chart for July.The comet is now in Taurus.
http://shopplaza.nl/astro/comets/07W1CH07.png

[Liz]

Beautiful Boattini, great job Mike :thumbsup:

[DistroMan]

Thanks Vincent. Between you, my planisphere and a lot of luck I just may see it in the morning. :D

[iceman]

You should be able to find it pretty easily with binoculars.

[DistroMan]

Couldn't see a thing. Well, not Boattini anyway. I was scanning around nearby when I found a fuzzy patch, put the binoculars down to find it was in Orion. Back inside later to look it up and found it was m43/m42. Don't know enough about them to say what it is etc, but you know I'm going to find out as soon as I can drag myself out of bed again in the wee hours and get the dob outside. Ha, I love my new hobby. :rofl:

[glenc]

Saw the comet with the 12" Dob this morning. I suspect I saw the tail. Has anyone else seen the tail visually?

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi Glen, i haven't seen the tail visually as i'm using my 7x50 bins for all my obs. I hope to be taking out my 10" dob in the morning, i might be able to see something then. I took pics this morning which still showed signs of a tail, but the comet is fading.
I made the comet out at mag 4.9, dia= 20', DC= 5.
Was the central condensation have a stellar like point of light in the coma with the 12"? (Pseudo nucleus?)

[glenc]

Didn't notice a stellar like point, but it might have been there.

[glenc]

Boattini's visual tail is at least 40' long and might be 60' in length. I looked at it with a 12" Dob this morning and a 13mm Hyperion EP (115x) which has a 40' field. The tail is best seen if you rock your scope back and forth across it. Look in the 4 o'clock position.

[Garyh]

Tried finding it with the binos this morning at 5am but not knowing its position I couldn`t find it, could have still been behind trees here...
Too darn windy to try to image it....and its a cold wind too!

Anyone have a link to recent finder chart/ co-ordinates.
cheers Gary

[glenc]

The comet was about 3 degrees above omicron Tau this morning and its altitude was 35 deg at 5am.

[Garyh]

Thanks Glen! was looking much further south!
Maybe tomorrow morning I will have a go weather permitting..
cheers

[Garyh]

Nice and clear this morning here! with only one long cloud across the sky and you can guess where it sat...right over the comet. Had to wait 1/2hr before the comet was visible. Could see it easily with the 10x50s thou I couldn`t see the ion tail. I reckon it would be mag 5 or slightly dimmer.
Setup the scope and managed 11 shots at 200 seconds before the sky became too bright. Seeing was very poor but very transparent.
Here is a approx 70% crop from one frame, totally unprocessed and no dark frame subtracted..Shall look nice when I combine them all..
cheers Gary

[iceman]

Wow Gary that's nice, can't wait to see the final.

[glenc]

Nice shot Gary, how wide is the field?

[Garyh]

Thanks Mike and Glen.:thumbsup:

Field of view in the crop would be close to 60 arc min.
Once I stack them I think the ion tail shall be easily visible to the edge of the frame..
cheers Gary

[Matty P]

Looks great Gary, I'm really looking forward to the final image.

:thumbsup:

[Outbackmanyep]

As listed on comets-ml, they have been able to image a dust tail.

http://astrosurf.com/nazaret/images/cometas/c2007w1/Dust_Tail_C2007W1_Muler_b.jpg

Cheers!

[glenc]

Comet Boattini was 50' below sigma Ari this morning. The comet is about 5' in diameter and fainter than magnitude 8. It was easy to see in 20x80 binoculars but difficult with 7x50s. M33 was brighter and larger than the comet in 7x50s.

[Outbackmanyep]

Good onya Glen!
I have been battling tonsilitis and cloud for most of this month, i have not been able to get out image, it let alone SEE it!

Thanks for the obs!
Cheers!

[glenc]

I saw the comet again this morning with the 12" Dob. Yesterday there was moon and haze, today was much better. The diameter was about 5' and it was easy to see in the 50mm finder.