Quote:
Originally Posted by Suzy
Thanks Andy for the heads up and the pic. 
Oooh I can't wait to see these together providing it's bright enough at the time for my 10" dob thru light pollution. It's currently sitting around magnitude 10.
Its supposed to reach around magnitude 7 come October. And it's a quick moving comet! |
Aye, aye, aye, and this comet is still sitting around mag 10 from this post I made back in August
.
For those who don't have access to our facebook page, I'll pop in today's post I did below - if you don't mind - as it has some good information in it, i.e. a countdown clock for closest approach, live streaming site, observing the comet etc.
*Mars Gets Ready To Greet Its Comet*
Much excitement now as we watch the comet getting closer & closer for its Oct. 19th closest approach to Mars at a distance of only 139,000km.
Images like this one taken by IceInSpace member, Kevin Parker, are indeed very exciting to see, as it shows the comet at only two days away from Mars!
The comet is on left of the pic, circled.
Mars is the bright golden object on the far right.
Image Taken: 17/1/014 at 1000UT.
10 x 60 seconds, ED80 at F4.4, Pentax K-5.
Keep an eye on the countdown ticker here for its closest approach:
http://www.cometcampaign.org/
Time of closest approach:
October 19th 18.27 GMT
If you'd like to have a go at observing the comet through a telescope, it may be tricky. It's still currently sitting around magnitude 10 and Mars will likely over power the comet in brightness. A moderate sized telescope and a dark sky will be helpful.
Here in Australia, the time of closest approach will be at 4.30am AEST, 20th Oct. Unfortunately for us, Mars will be well and truly below our horizon at that time. But have a go at trying to glimpse it earlier in the evening. And send us your images if you're out taking pics!
As the article below explains so well: "While small telescopes and even large binoculars can bring stars as faint as magnitude 10 into view, keep in mind that a star is a sharp point of light, while the comet will likely be a wispy smudge whose contrast might not be much different than the background sky behind it."
How to See It in Telescopes:
http://www.space.com/27444-comet-sid...41017_33768697
The Virtual Telescope will be hosting the event live:
http://www.virtualtelescope.eu/webtv/
-Suzy.