Three Comets Observed

[astroron]

I was able to observe three comets tonight before the clouds came on:(
Comet C2009 E1 Itagaki ONLY 8 degs above the horizon and in twilight, I estimate it to be about mag 10-11 ,it was just a fuzzy ball with no other detail.
I then went to another Japanese comet, 144P Kushida which at about mag 12 was a bit more of a challenge but was easily seen as a round haze against the background stars.
Comet C2007 N3 LuLin is about mag 8.5 an I could not see any Hint of a tail even though it seemed a little extended.
I then did a galaxy tour of Dorado using the ARGO NAVIS tour mode before calling it a night because of intermittent cloud:(
A short but sweet observing session:stargaze::stargaze::astron:

[Kevnool]

Great short report Ron Also keep an eye out for comet kopff in Sagittarius early in the morn. Starry night is reporting it as mag 8.
Cheers Kev.

[glenc]

Congratulations Ron.
I saw Lulin last night with 20x80s. It was brighter and larger than the mag 8.4 Crab nebula M1.
Guide 8 says Kopff is mag 10 and 3.5 degrees east of the OC M25 but recent estimates put it at mag 12.

[GEORGE]

What do i need on my telescope to analyze star light,to determine their spectral type

[astroron]

You will need some form of spectrograph,see this thread for what it entails.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=40143
And welcome to iceinspace.:thumbsup:

[jjjnettie]

3 comets in one night!
Glad you had a good night Ron.

[anthony.tony]

Has anyone spotted Comet C/2007 Q3 .

[Jen]

:) sounds like you had a great night there Ron cheers :thumbsup:

[astroron]

I will give it a go tomorrow night, it is in Columba, and at given mag at 11.9 so should not be to difficult:P

[anthony.tony]

Thanks for looking I have had a couple of goes and not picked it Visually. Tony.

[glenc]

I looked at Lulin with my 12" Dob last night at 70 times. The tail was about 30' long, half of my 65' field.

[astroron]

Tony , I observed Comet C2007 Q3 Siding Spring,it is quite small, when first observed at 19:10 Qld time, 09:10 UT 13mm Nagler was close to a mag 11.7 star which gave the appearance of a faint double star with the top one being slightly fuzzy, I estimate the comet to be close to Mag 12.
Using a 6mm Radian was able to see a slightly elongated ball brighter in the middle, to faint for any hint of a tail.
I tried to see it using a 30mm eyepiece (60x mag) and I could not make it out as a comet
In one and a half hours The comet was seen moving quite noticeable against the background stars.
Comet N3 LuLin is fading quite quickly IMOP.
I had a look at some galaxies in Coma Berenices from Les's article in ASand Tel for April befor the clouds rolled in again:(

[gary]

Hi Ron,

Great to read you were about to knock off three visually in one night!
Well done!

Three of us had no difficulty in seeing a wisp of a tail last weekend on Lulin through 20" of aperture.
A nice object and we will have have another go tonight through Andrew's 25".



Hi Kev,

I am particularly interested in hearing of observations or seeing images
of 22P Kopff this time around. I observed it in 1996 and it was particularly
challenging against the backdrop of the Sagittarius star field. A finder
chart is recommended.

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Mt Kuring-Gai

[anthony.tony]

Thanks for the report on Q3 Siding spring that explains why I have been hanving trouble trying to see it.. I will have a go tonight . Tony

[astroron]

I spent quite a bit of time last night, last observation about 03:30 AM trying for Comet 22P Kopff, and was unable to positively identify the comet.:(
The transparency was brilliant but the seeing had a lot to be desired, with the stars all looking like a planetary Nebula:sadeyes:
The comet is in a very crowded star field and the only thing I can think off is that the comet is very starlike:shrug:
I will keep trying for this one:D

[gary]

Hi Ron,

Thanks for the report and for having another shot of it last night. Thanks also
for your telephone call yesterday describing the weekend's attempt.

Our observing location on Saturday has obstructed views to the East, so
it was probably not until 2am when Sagittarius started to appear through
the trees. The dew was so heavy by that stage that everything was fogging
up so the opportunity didn't present itself to have a shot at it. Unfortunately
it has been raining heavily ever since.

In 1996, looking for it in Sagittarius was extremely tough and we would go
out each night with a fresh finder chart showing the FOV with SAO stars on it.
With the core of the Milky Way as the backdrop, visually looking for the one odd
fuzzy star that doesn't belong is challenging. A real needle in the haystack at the
time.

Like you, we will keep trying! :thumbsup: Very interested to hear of any other reports.

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Mt Kuring-Gai

[astroron]

No luck again last night, mist rolled in around midnight:(
I waited up till 02:00 to see if it would but no dice:mad2:
Comet 2007 Q3 Siding Spring was a lot easier to observe as it gets higher in the sky.
The tail of Comet 2007 N3 LuLin was seen a a faint gossamer brightening against the background starlit sky:):astron::stargaze:

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi,
I saw Q3 Siding Spring twice last week and it's around mag 12.
My official obs are below:

C/2006 Q3 Siding Spring
2009 March 28.45 UT; m1= 11.8; Dia= 1.4'; DC= 6; 14" SCT, f/11, (x98)
Coma extension to South with small broad tail, roughly 2' long.

[astroron]

Hi Gary I was able on three occasions to observe Comet 22P Kopff:)
It is much fainter than the given Mag 8.6 it is quite diffusse and has a fan shape.
No coma was noticed but movement against the background stars was seen over about an hour.
Have you seen it yet?
I was able to also see Q3 Siding Spring which is quite small and very little detail.
Cheers

[gary]

Hi Ron,

Thanks for the report and great to hear you were able to see it.
Also thanks for the phone call.

Last time we were out it dewed up before it rose.

Next chance will be Coona at the end of the month and apart from a flock
of 18" scopes, two 20"'s and two 25"'s, there will be a brand new SDM 30" there,
all fitted with the best telescope computer money can buy. :thumbsup:
So we should have no trouble locating it and then seeing it.

Plus a pair of 25 x 150 Fujinon binoculars will be there for cruising.

It certainly was a very diffuse comet last time it was here.

Best regards

Gary Kopff
Mt Kuring-Gai

[GrahamL]

Great persistance guys :thumbsup:


Is there a family link to this one gary .. or are you quite an active old gent for your 127 years;)
Can my argo unit identify comets .. as It dosn't at the moment.

[gary]

August Kopff was a distant relative and was the Director at the Konigstuhl Observatory
at the University of Heidelberg. He was a protege of Max Wolf at Heildelberg
and later was a mentor to Walter Fricke. Fricke in turn became Director of the
observatory when Kopff retired in late 1954.

Kopff discovered a large number of asteroids and comets and later went onto
collaborate with Fricke on what is known as the Forth Fundamental Catalog (FK4).
This later evolved into FK5 and this was the standard celestial reference frame
up until 1988. A new version called FK6 came out in 2000. Curiously enough,
when initially working on Argo Navis, I had reason to go to the University library
and study the opening chapters of FK5.

Kopff corresponded with Einstein on relatively as part of the FK work.

In the late 80's and 90's, NASA planned a a mission called Comet Rendezvous
Asteroid Flyby (CRAF) which was meant to rendezvous with 22P Kopff and fly
alongside it for three years. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Rendezvous_Asteroid_Flyby
Unfortunately the mission was canceled.

August Kopff passed away in 1960.
There is also a Kopff Crater on the far side of the Moon and a Kopff Rille near the
crater both named after him.

When you load comet orbital elements into your Argo Navis, a COMETS
catalog appears underneath MODE CATALOG. Your unit is capable of
doing it. Grab a copy of the User Manual from here -
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au/downloads/documentation/argoman10.pdf
See pp 160-167 on how to obtain comet orbital elements from the Minor
Planet Center and how to use the Argonaut software utility to load them into
your unit. Since Argo Navis has a lithium coin cell battery backed time of
day clock and a multitasking operating system, it continually computes the
positions of comets in the background. What is neat about this is the
position of the comet will not only be accurate from one day to the next,
but from each minute to the next. :thumbsup:

I am sure August Kopff and Max Wolf would have found this capability
handy to have back in 1906.

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Managing Director
Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.
20 Kilmory Place, Mount Kuring-Gai
NSW. 2080. Australia
Phone +61-2-9457-9049
Phone +61-2-9457-9593
sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au

[astroron]

Thanks for the interesting post Gary:)
Nightstalker the ARGO NAVIS will only identify comets that you have downloaded in the first place, using Argonaut
You can only download ten comets:thumbsup: