Well I had a look for this comet last night, I think I saw it, unless there is something else in that area that my charts don't show. The actual chart I had printed out from the net howed it just south east of M4. This is where the confusion sets in. The very faint smudge I saw (looked almost like a galaxy was so faint, and large) was north east of M4. I have seen M4 many times before but the twilight was very confusing. I am wondering if the very faint object was M4 and what I thought was M4 was the comet??????? either way I guess you could say that I have seen it, just don't know which was it and which was M4???? I know NGC6144 is also in this area, but I have seen it many times before also and know how faint it is when its dark, so don't believe that I could have been looking at it, besides the smudge I saw was too big and was not in the right position in relation to antares. I guess if anyone else was looking that night they could help me out by answering the following for me please.
Was the comet larger than M4?
Was it brighter than M4?
Which direction from M4 was it?
Any help would be appreciated. Please remember my scope is small so it would have looked a lot fainter for me than for some of you lucky people with huge scopes.
Edit: I did some further research regarding updated orbital info etc from the site that Outbackmanyep has supplied in other comet threads on here, (thanks OBM) and after sorting through all the data etc supplied on said website edited the info in my skywatch program for this comet and it shows it to the left of M4 as shown on my printed skychart I had. This leads me to believe that what I thought was M4 was in fact the comet, and the large faint object I saw was in fact M4??? still not 100% sure but i think thats correct.
Last edited by NQLD_Newby; 06-11-2007 at 01:52 PM.
Had another more concentrated look at Loneos F1 last night allowing the sky to darken as much as possible first, about 8:15pm WDST. This was after some horrible cloud banks disapeared just at the right time.
Through the 30X100 binos could easily see the coma and a hint of nucleus, and right at the limits of my visual range I could just make out a thin stream of the tail leading up and to the north (towards Antares).
Hi Rex, Loneos is a little brighter than M4 but much smaller. If you were looking directly below Antares that was M4. Loneos F1 is a similar distance as between those two but off to the south and in between forming a triangle.
All three of the above could almost fit in the FOV for the 30X100's (2deg.)but not quite.
Hi guys!
Its been raining here! I know we need it but according to reports from Con Stoitsis and Michael Mattiazzo the comet is beginning to dim, i wish these clouds would POQ! hehe
The comet does look very much like M4 NQLD_Newby, but it is about 1/4 the size, and it has a very fast proper motion, so if you see it try and sketch it, then tomorrow night sketch the field again and see if the motion has changed!
You can do it at higher magnifications too but you want the widest possible angle with good resolve. Something between 25 to 40mm is good enough!
I know when i observed C/2004 Q2 Machholz in January 2005, it moved 2 degrees per day!!
But if you're unsure, sketch what you see in the eyepiece, then try sketching it again the next day and you'll quickly see what moves and what doesn't!
Through the 30X100 binos could easily see the coma and a hint of nucleus, and right at the limits of my visual range I could just make out a thin stream of the tail leading up and to the north (towards Antares).
All three of the above could almost fit in the FOV for the 30X100's (2deg.)but not quite.
Hi WadeH,
Whats the 30x100's like to use?? Do they hurt your eyes at all, and whats the edge of field like as far as coma goes??
ouch, fading a mag a day eh :C ho hum never gonna be a naked eye comet, hmmm oh well cant win em all
OBM never seen any bright comet move faster than B2 through the night sky in march '96! 15d a day at one stage at least, could see/watch it move during/over session, specially in scope at high power
OBM never seen any bright comet move faster than B2 through the night sky in march '96! 15d a day at one stage at least, could see/watch it move during/over session, specially in scope at high power
My recollection of Hyakutake was a big fuzz ball in the murky Penrith skies, i took star trails of that comet from my backyard, i wasn't driving then so i had to sit that one out!
I heard from many other people it was just as spectacular as P1 McNaught as far as "awe" goes!
If you look in David H Levy's book "Guide to Observing and Discovering Comets" he shows a long duration star trail image of the North Celestial Pole and you can see the trailed image of Hyakutake on a 30 degree (or so) angle against the background stars, it certainly moved alright!!!!
But my recent memory was of Q2 Machholz, i was amazed at how much it moved from night to night.....
But B2, moving 15 degrees a night though....AWESOME!.....would have been a guiding nightmare!!!!!
But B2, moving 15 degrees a night though....AWESOME!.....would have been a guiding nightmare!!!!!
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I would easily put/rate my personal B2 experience over P1, just to start with, just simply coz it was in dark skies when at best.
your right OBM, re guiding nightmare, thats mainly why there isnt many, if any, 'awesome' *truly* representative all encompassing view photos of it, that and the gigantic length of tail. boy if modern digital cameras were around then
The 30X100's do take a little getting used too seeing as how they have such a small FOV, supposed to be 2 deg. but I suspect really 1.8. Will measure it one day. Also my tripod needs an upgrade to something more sturdy but it will do for the time being.
I know that some people will say that for the mag. and objective size they would get perhaps a refractor or other scope, but you cannot beat it for grab and go viewing and I will also take it away on camping trips etc were space (sorry bad pun) is limited.
There is a little coma around edges but not bad enough to distract or stand out while looking at the object which,again, with such a small FOV will be in the centre and that is were your eyes stay.
I would like to have a look through a pair before i buy i reckon! But it sounds like good value for money!
I tried a pair of Saxon 10x50's and OMG....looking through them was ok but when i took them away my eyes stung badly.....i settled for 7x50's that didn't do that, i got them at the same time i got my 10" dob....so i better take a look through a pair first!
Not sure what you mean by stinging your eyes but it would definatly pay to try first. It is a sizable outlay. Also remember to allow for a strong tripod at some stage. It is essential.
I also looked at M6 Butterflycluster and M14 globular and the views were great. M6 filled the entire FOV.
Well it's official. What i thought was M4 the other night was definately Leonos. I found it last night quite easily as there wasn't anything else anywhere near it that would look like it. Looks very much like M4 does in the dark, but a lot smaller. Couldn't make out any hint of a tail, but twighlight lasts till about 8pm EST and by that time it is very low on the horizon. As it gets higher up each day (hopefully won't faid too much) the view should get better. It would be an amazing sight in total darkness.
I observed it again last night through 12x50 binoculars - head still quite bright and it had moved about 5 degrees up from where I saw it two nights ago. No 15 degrees, but it's still moving fairly fast!
Not sure what you mean by stinging your eyes but it would definatly pay to try first. It is a sizable outlay. Also remember to allow for a strong tripod at some stage. It is essential.
I also looked at M6 Butterflycluster and M14 globular and the views were great. M6 filled the entire FOV.
Hey WadeH,
I must have suffered eyestrain badly, i picked the bins up, held them to my eye, focussed on a nearby telegraph pole and as soon as i took them away my eyes hurt like buggery, i reckon if i had kept it up i would have had headaches or something!
BTW..$419-00 from AOE, not a bad price but maybe i'll wait till after christmas, they might be on special by then!