Comet 96P/Machholz- We Could Be In For A Treat This Week.

[Suzy]

So it looks like we may get ourselves a comet in our skies around the 22nd of July!
Woohoooo how excited am I to get a birthday comet (that Xmas comet just wasn't enough :P ). Okay, so it's 2 days after my birthday but close enough I say! :D

The latest issue of Astronomy Magazine is saying Quote, " we could be treated to a 7th magnitude streak hanging low in the evening sky during late July." Apparently we may get to see it as early as July 21st appearing low in the northwest sky moving eastward through Leo. From what I can gather so far it's supposed to come out from behind the sun on July 17th which is today. I couldn't find anywhere any update info so I chased up my facebook friend David J. Eicher (editor in chief of Astronomy Magazine) and he gave me some news on it today. :D

Here's the SOHO website for Sungrazing Comets. (http://sungrazer.nrl.navy.mil/)
See the first article for July there- apparently this comet had babies.

So here's hoping we get to see something!

[Rob_K]

Northerners get a much better view Suzy, not that much in it for us. We lost it in early July as it was brightening, and from my location at least I don't get it back till the end of July in evening skies at mid mag 9s and fading rapidly. Might be back a bit earlier from your location. :thumbsup:

It's been giving a good show in SOHO fields recently (LASCO C2 & C3).

Cheers -

[JB80]

It's still going to be low for us about 11° roughly, I wont be able to see it from home due to trees and probably clouds.

If it's visible to the eye then I'd go for a quick drive though and have a look.

[bloodhound31]

That's awesome Suzy! I can't wait to have a crack at this again!

[RobF]

Thanks for the heads-up Suzy. Might be worth having a crack at it Sat night from Peter's - 10 Chain has a decent NW horizon.

[astroron]

For South East Queensland,Just checked the ephemeris and it says the comet will be visible in our sky's till it fades from view, so as it heads away from the Sun it will be visible later and later every night on the 31st july it will be 9 deg above the horison and set at half past seven, but that is the 3 days before Full Moon, so very bright sky.:(

[Suzy]

RobK, yes I've been looking at the SOHO images as well. :D I'm sorry you won't get to see it though.:sadeyes:

RobF, Good luck :thumbsup: If you do manage to get it, would you mind sharing the pic with us here pleeeease. :D

Jarrod, wishing you all the best as well in catching it. :thumbsup:

Baz, I'm not so sure if you'll be successful going by what Ron has just said.:sadeyes:

Liz & Warren up north should have a good chance shouldn't they.:question:

[astroron]

I think we will all get to see it eventually,:) but not at it's brightest :(
as it is in visible for at least a month or more in small amateur scopes.
Cheers:thumbsup:

[JB80]

Thanks Suzy for the heads up.

Does anyone know what to expect from this comet?
I mean if it's mag 7 that puts it right on the limit but should be visible in a pair of bins.
Is it a big comet that can be drawn out with a regular dslr lens and longer exposure or a faint fuzzy that would require a scope?

I guess we have to wait and see.

[astroron]

:hi:Jarrod, if it is clear on Saturday evening Australian time, some of us may just get an image or an observation to see what it is like.
It has not long gone round the Sun so has not been visible till very recently.
I hope you can get a look as well :)
Cheers:thumbsup:

[JB80]

Cheers Ron, I completely forget about the time difference sometimes.
Hopefully you guys can get out and bring some reports back, I wish you all clear skies and good luck.

I can pop down the road to the local plane spotting hangout which should give good enough horizon views but won't be lugging my scope with me.

[astroron]

Jarrod Weather permitting:prey::prey::prey::prey:
Cheers:thumbsup:

[Pinwheel]

I can't contain myself....A comet 2012...It's the end of the world....ahhhhhhh! :eyepop: :):D sorry guy's & girls, the endoftheworldth people will love this..:screwy:

[CometGuy]

Hi Suzy,

Don't expect too much with this comet visually. By the time its high enough for our latitude it will be about magnitude 11 or so. What's interesting with this comet though is that it is getting successively closer to the sun with each return - so we might expect to see more fragmentation events like the one we witnessed this time around.

Terry

[RobF]

Hi Ron! Do you (or anyone) have the RA/Dec for the comet this coming Sat evening? Sounds like will be less than 9 degrees above horizon at sunset from what you're saying which doesn't sound promising, then moon will be about causing havoc? :(

[JB80]

For me there wont be any moon, it'll be setting with the sun and is a new moon.
Still that doesn't guarantee anything.

[mithrandir]

Suzy, for Sydney 96P will not be visible after astronomical twilight until Jul 28, by which time CdC predicts it will be mag 9.4. By Aug 28 it will be mag 14, but will at least be visible till about 10pm. For the FNQers (eg Cairns), it should be just visible by Jul 25 at mag 8.4

[mithrandir]

Rob, these figures come from CdC. The character set is UTF-8 and the file is really a csv (which the uploader will not accept).

[RobF]

Thanks Andrew!
Have attached an image of that data too if helps anyone a bit of fussing.....

I'm guessing elongation is separation from sun at sunset?

[astroron]

Rob, Definitely no good for Saturday as it sets about Six O'clock.
Cheers:thumbsup:

[mithrandir]

Rob, all the columns to the left of "Rise" are at the time in cell A3 - 08:41 UTC which is 18:41 AEST - so roughly sunset. The rest are absolute.

Naturally elevations have to be positive for it to be visible, and my figures assume my home elevation of 117 metres with no allowance for a depressed horizon.

[Suzy]

Thanks Terry.
I wasn't expecting a visual one (well, one could hope :P ), but a binocular one would be awesome.:D
You spoiled us silly with our last comet. :lol:

Andrew, thank you for providing all that info.

[cometcatcher]

That's not an easy one for me either. Can't do it from home. I have the streetlight constellation to the west. However I do have a mate with a western view. I'll have to see what he's doing in a week from now.

[ZeroID]

If the weather gods are kind (unlikley given the forecast ) I could get up on the local volcano with the 80mm and search west on Sunday evening.
Totally unviewable from SkySlab, aforementioned volcano gets in the way.
Any one got a pic of position for next week or two ?

[Suzy]

Hi Brent, I was hoping you'd be able to have a go from your location.

If you scroll up, you'll see a couple of links- one by me on my original post given by David J. Eicher from Astronomy Magazine and another by Andrew.
I always break out in a chuckle when you say you're goingto climb a volcano :lol: How cool is that! :lol:

[ZeroID]

Hi Suzy, I've got a choice of them round here ... :P about 20 or so.

" Pick a volcano, any volcano ..."

Pulled down a pdf of the track from stargazerslounge but it looks like it is almost below horizon and in quite bright light for Sunday and won't get any better. So I think it's a nonstarter from my viewpoint unfortunately.
North Hemisphere guys will do better as it will be rising away from the sun. In our case it is getting worse. :sadeyes:


My 'local' volcano about 400 meters behind the house has a biggish field on the western side, concealed water reservoir underneath so nice big flat grassed area with ideal west view. I photographed McNaught from there last time. And the gates are locked at night so no hoons or car lights to bother you. Has some nasty speed bumps as well which keeps them away.
I actually haven't used it yet but intend to get up there one day and get M31 which makes about 13* above horizon. The north views are pretty good as well and not too much LP in that direction.

[mithrandir]

Here's the next month for Auckland, at sea level. From altitude the times would be a bit different. I don't think you have much chance before the 28th.

Get your own copy of CdC and the MPC ephemeris data. :)

[Analog6]

Is there a chart anywhere? Can I load it into Stellarium?

[Liz]

Absolutely Odille, I have mine in.

here is a chart for tonight from Stellarium, way too low and sky too bright for ? another week, as said previously.

[JB80]

For those that don't know how to add comets and asteroids to Stellarium I'll copy/paste a guide I did a while back.
Hopefully it will be of use to someone.

[Gurutronic]

Cheers for the tip on adding comets in Stellarium. I didn't even realise you could add objects in like that!

[Liz]

Make sure you have Comet C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS in Stellarium too - this will hopefully reach mag 1 next March, all being well. Presently about mag14 + in Virgo ...from memory.:thumbsup:

[mithrandir]

Stellarium gives you a good idea of what you can expect to see but CdC lets you generate much more helpful information as to when satellites and minor bodies will be visible.

Once you've predicted the position of an object it you can set the date and time in Stellarium to get the eye candy.

Liz, it's the last week of Feb and the first of Mar when C/2011 L4 is predicted to be mag 3.1 to 1.6 and visible after astronomical twilight in the southern hemishpere.

[ZeroID]

Rain, rain, and more rain. It's been nonstop wet since Saturday and will continue through to next Thursday at least. Must be leftovers from someone in Australia who bought way too much new gear !!
So much for comet viewing ...
I'll investigate adding objects in Stellarium, always been a bit wary of playing around in there. Thanks for the help guide Jarrod..

[Analog6]

Thanks for those lovely clear direction jarrod. I have it int here now, but cannot get the little handles to show. It has centred it Ok but of course it is very dark. Where do I fond how to turn the little handles on?

[Outbackmanyep]

It will be a difficult target binocular wise, telescopically it should be do-able, even in moonlight, mind you you'll be fighting twilight, zodiacal light, atmospheric extinction, cloud, more cloud, encroaching moonlight and the fact the comet is getting fainter.....but if you're not out there looking you won't know for sure!

[mithrandir]

Odile, roll the time forward to 2012-07-27 18:42:00 and see if the "handles" show up with 96P just on the horizon. Here are your predictions for the appropriate times.

[mozzie]

i had a look for this one a little while back liz!!!!!!! didn't see anything but i will go and have a look at my notes to see....there's nothing else to do just cloud and rain......

[Liz]

Heehee, good luck with that Mozzie!! Cant wait for it to brighten though, within the grasp of the 10" scope.

Here is a chart for tonight at 1845 for Comet Machholz, still low in the west, but in darker skies now ... except for La Luna. :help:

[ZeroID]

Weather is slowly changing, might get to see some sky over the weekend. And with luck a comet and maybe some meteors as well.
Venus has been so bright in the eastern sky it actually shone through the clouds this morning !! They must be thinning a bit.
Got both Comets into Stellarium ok, thanks Jarrod.

[Analog6]

Liz, how'd you get the comets to be little circles like that?

Andrew, Still no handles but thansk for the time chart, I know where to look at least!

And I have only the free version, does this make a difference?

[ZeroID]

Stellarium is Free, the whole shooting match, unrestricted. I get the red cross X as well, no circle, not really needed anyway. If you zoom in it just shows a wee round dot, no 'comet' picture anyway. Must be some setting hidden away in there for it or an update maybe.

C'mon Liz, spill the beans, what's the secret ?

Weather is slowly clearing, I've got me fingers crossed .. and my eyes, toes, elbows, legs, .....

[mithrandir]

Things change a bit between releases so Liz's 0.11.0 is a bit different to 0.11.3 which is on this lappie.
Go to "Sky and Viewing Options" -> "Sky"
Drag the "Planets" slider to the right until the names and circles appear. Somewhere around 2/3 - 3/4.

[Analog6]

Thanks - that's done it!

[mithrandir]

For Sydneysiders 96P/Machholtz will get passed within 13 degrees by the ISS at 18:05 on Friday 3rd Aug.
The ISS is heading south to north others should have some chance too.

[astroron]

Comet 96p/Machholtz
I spent an hour trying to observe Comet 96p/Machholtz
Sky too bright,Comet too faint,:(
May get a look by the weekend weather permitting.
Cheers:thumbsup:

[ZeroID]

I got 'Sky too wet' ..... :(

[Analog6]

Would some altitude be helpful to see this? No luck at home as hills and trees to west.

[Rob_K]

Always helpful when an object is low Odille, but you'll also have to wait a night or two for the Moon to move back to give you a dark sky window. The comet is dimming fast so don't expect too much. A visual obs of mag 9.2 was posted on 1 Aug, and it will probably be about mag 10 by the time you get to see it. It will just be a small faint patch - you won't see anything of a bright 'nucleus' (inner coma) without a big scope (nuclear magnitude was reported at around mag 13 by several observers on 30 July so expect it to be out around mag 14).

A Chinese observer, Man-To Hui, posted a sketch he'd done of the comet on 1 Aug, through an 8" scope. In a few days, expect that to be the sort of view you'll get through a 10" or 12" scope even allowing for no moonlight, not much at all I'm afraid.
http://comethunter.lamost.org/sketches/kometen/96P.htm#20120801

Good luck, look forward to hearing how you go!

Cheers -

[Analog6]

Probably not much hope for me then, I just have the camera and 500mm lens.

[astroron]

Just came in from Observing Comet P96 Macholz.
First observed at 18:37 AEST 08:37UT, when it was only 16 deg above the Horizon.
Small diffuse not round fuzzy haze .
I would guess it at about between Mag +8 and 9.
After about half an hour of observing I was able to discerne a hint of a nucleus and maybe a bit of a fan shape, but not certain as It was by this time pretty low and I called it quits
I should be visible in scopes of about 8" and above but you will need clear sky's
It was not visible in 10x60 Binoculars.

Cheers:thumbsup:

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi Suzy,
Using the GStar camera last night i was able to get this frame.
This is what it looks like, maybe a little more diffuse in the centre visually. Just be careful of the other galaxies in the area!

Cheers! :thumbsup:

[Suzy]

Woohoooooooooo!!!! I nabbed it last night (Wed)!

Thanks Chris, that pic helped me tremendously and thank you for your help in messages on how to find it. Also, thank you to Ron for giving me the co-ords to put into my Argo Narvis and giving me the best veiwing times during the course of the week. :thumbsup:

It was relatively easy to find, Chris gave me an excellent guide by telling me it was sitting only about 22 arc mins away from 24 Coma Berenices. The seeing conditions were terrific- so clear and still for the most part of the hour's observing session.

I only had a one hour window to do the alignment and bino scan as the sky doesn't get dark enough until 6pm sitting at 27 deg (here in Brisbane) and by 7pm it was getting down to 16 deg. I managed to observe it until 7.30 where it got down to 12 deg but then started to get quite dim as it sank lower into the atmosphere soup and that's where my horizon gave up.
When I started the session, for the very first time I was shaking with anxiety as I felt so under pressure as I had a short viewing window to find and observe and I desperately wanted to see this comet- my first thru my scope. Who'd have thought observing could be so stressful!

The co-ords directed me straight to 24 Coma Berenices and then I began the scan working a 30 degree area around it. There it sat smack in the middle of 24 Com.Ber. and a triangle asterism pointing to it. The asterism and 24 C.B. sat on either edge of my 70deg fov 10mm Pentax XW ep (120X). I noted the bottom part of the triangle had one star brighter than the other. I did a mag estimate of the two dimmer ones being mag 9 and the 2 fainter ones as being mag.10. I used this information to confirm the asterism on my sky programme to verify I was in the right area and not confusing the comet for a galaxy. Upon further checks, the only 2 galaxies that seem to lay in that area are well beyond my scope's resolution anyway, so I discounted that possibility, also they weren't lined up with the asterism and 24 Com.Ber. I estimated the comet to have a mag. of 10.5 doing the comparison with the triangle asterism. I could be wrong- this is my guess anyway (some confirmation of this would be helpful if anyone observed it the same night that I did.) This small area was devoid of bright stars, instead just very few fainter ones.
My sky programme revealed that these stars were:
HIP61615 mag 9.03 HIP61555 mag 10.06 TYC1448-217-1 mag 9.87.

The comet was quite small with an easy to see nucleus with a small faint coma surrounding it. I made many checks to make sure this wasn't a star because initially it looked stellar in appearance albeit very diffuse. Checks revealed all the faint stars in the same area with the same brightness remained pinpoint and stellar. This was different.

I had no idea 24 Coma Berenices was a double star- let alone such a stunning double, until I put my eye to the eyepiece. An absolutely gorgeous close pair of saphire & topaz- such striking contrast! I found myself constantly leaving the comet to observe these two stars. Sometimes coloured doubles can be not so vivid in colour- this one was outstanding. So I got two treats in the one night.

[Suzy]

Thanks for your report Ron :thumbsup:

For me, there was no shape obvious, I was just lucky to see anything at all. :P:lol: I was very fortunate to have terrific seeing conditions at the time to show up what it did.
Woohooo bring on another comet! :lol: Something with a tale would be nice.:D

[cometcatcher]

Okay, but you won't like it. :P

Comet 185P/Petriew is in the morning sky just to the north of Venus. It's a bit faint though at around magnitude 11 and needs a 12 inch scope to see it.

It barely showed up on this image through the ED80.

[Liz]

Great to hear Suzy, well done!! I am making a concerted effort to get it on Saturday night, the double sounds pretty too. :thumbsup:

[Suzy]

Nice catch there Kevin! :thumbsup:
Hmmmm that one looks very tough to get, even if I had 12" I think I'd struggle.:question:

[Suzy]

Good luck Liz, I hope you get it! :D

I estimated (I'm learning!) the magnitude of it to be 10.5, buy yaaay I was very close! Outmanbackyep (Chris) said he's estimate was 10.1. Woohooo!

Here's a pic of 24 Coma Berenices-stunning isn't it! :eyepop:


http://www.starimager.com/Images/Detail%20Page%20Images/24-Coma-Berenices.jpg

[CometGuy]

This is 96P from tonight, taken as part of my routine comet search. Magnitude 10 would sound about right judging on how clearly visible it is.

Terry