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Hi Lester,
if I hadn't seen your picture I may have doubted what I saw tonight. The local forecast was for thunderstorms by dark so I was surprised to get a call from my old mate Noel Munford in the city saying how clear the sky was. I quickly ended the conversation so I could go out and get a look before the rising moon became too dominant. It was 9.25 U.T. (10.25 Daylight Time) and the moon had only been up for 5 minutes.
It was a hard case situation with the solar twilight receeding in the west and the lunar twilight growing in the north east. In between and up high in the south sat the Clouds of Magellan in the darkest part of the sky. A very vague but persistent appendage to the LMC coming off underneath the Tarantula end of the Bar was best seen with averted vision, but occasionally with direct viewing. A few pesky clouds tried forming in the area. They moved off but the weak, elongated glow persisted. Binoculars weren't any help at all.
I'd say that the tail was no more than 8 degrees long, about the same as the brighter part shown in Lester's picture. In positive and negative views of Lester's shot there is a weak suggestion that the comet may trail off beyond the LMC, but it is not certain.
When I looked to my north I saw lightning flashes so it was good of them to hold off for an hour, otherwise I doubt that I will get another chance before Monday night. I just splashed out on a 450D so the weather will be puke for me for the next few days. Then I'll be ready to give it another crack!
Cheers
Coops
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