Comet McNaught (2006/P1) - discussions

[blueskies123_89 (George)]

Hi I saw the comet last night (Finally! after a week of clouds for Melbourne). Just a few questions about this - from some photographs you can see the western parts of the tail curving all the way back to the horizon, in segments, I think these are streamers but can someone explain this to me?

Second, anyone noticing that towards the west of the head of the comet, there is a visible extension going out in a different direction from the tail, what is that?

clear skies

[matt]

Originally Posted by Ric

Great going JJJ, I think the media have been pretty slack on this event. The only mention that I have seen or heard is a one minute segment about 2 weeks ago.

Cheers

Ric

There was a segment just last night on WinTV!!!!

I've seen maybe 4 "bits" all up on various channels the last week or so.

Just coz you ain't seen/heard 'em...doesn't mean they're not getting done.

As a journo of almost 20 years and an astronomer of even longer ()
I have to say that generally, to the everyday media, this is not an event that is likely to garner more than a few stories here and there.

You'll get a heads-up story, a comet at its best story, and perhaps a wrap-up piece.

Then, as a journo, you move on to other stories which are "breaking" and are "new(s)"

Keep in mind that to the average person (to whom most of these news bulletins are pitched) this sort of stuff is really just a passing curiosity and not of massive interest.

Sad but true. As much as we'd like to think everyone else is as fascinated as we are, they're just not.

[John K]

Well after over 1 week of cloud, smoke and haze here in Melbourne the sky cleared for a glorious night.
Drove 45 mins west, out on a hill past Bacchus Marsh, with the comet being in a dark SW part of the sky well away from the glow of Gellong and Ballarat to an awsome sight.
After some early concerns about not finding it in binoculars, it ended up being precisely where it was suppost to be and finally found it in my 10 x 50's at 9.15pm. By 10pm it was a glorious sight! Holy cow! That tail was amazing! Up to 25 degrees, and we we could actually see to 2 parts to the tail, with the major part having large streaming vertical sections brighter than the LMC and milkyway. The front coma had a large triangular section pointing away from the coma at around 45 degrees.
Took about 70 photos with my new 400D and a mate's borrowed 100-300mm Sigma lens which I will process shortly!
Compared to Hyakytake I actually through that the comet was slightly brighter with more structure in the tail but with a far smaller coma. I cannot even imagine what this thing would be like if it got as close as Hyakytake! Awasome! and well worth waiting the last 9 days to see it! Hope that it stays bright when it becomes circumpolar.

[Ric]

Hi Matt, I missed the WinTV segment.
What you were saying is correct, I just have this utopian view of things sometimes and felt that such a spectacle would warrant more attention.
A one hour special with interviews with Mr McNaught would have done nicely .

Sadly it's true that some of the general public are just not interested in the way that we are. I have been doing my best around my workplace to promote interest by putting location maps on the notice boards but looking at the comments written on them it was probably a wasted effort on some people.

On a lighter note I wrote to the ABC a few years back asking them if they could add a endnote to the weather and show some detailed cloud maps of our local region for amateur astronomers. I was chuffed to recieve a reply a few weeks later thanking me but saying they were unable to do this due to time constraints. Still no harm in trying I suppose.

Cheers

[matt]

Good for you, Ric.

You're right, of course. There is absolutely no harm in trying.

I too wish there was more astro "stuff" presented in the mainstream media. Probably as much as most other interest groups wish there was more of their "stuff" in the media as well.

I guess that's why we spend so much time on IIS, where we are very nicely catered for

[astrofer1966]

Hello Friends:

I'm Fernando from Montevideo, Uruguay.
At 1 hour past I observe the comet. Are the tail more small than yesterday???
Many Regards

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

LOL.
I made postcard sized handouts with a current picture and mentioned when and where to look for it. I put it on notice boards in the Pubs, the Rural Supplies and Feed store ( they were interested and made more copies to hand out to customers ) and then gave the rest to a few people I know in town.
I felt quite white and nerdy doing it, but what the hell.

[iceman (Mike)]

At Karate last night I heard one of the teenagers talking about it, trying to explain to someone else where to look for it (he hadn't seen it yet either).

I gave them the facts.. where to look, what time etc

Events like this are great for astronomy.. gets people looking up!

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

You've got to spread the Word brother.

[erick (Eric)]

Originally Posted by iceman

I gave them the facts.. where to look, what time etc....

Where I set up last night a few others gathered with cameras etc. By 9pm they were ready to go home, but I said, wait a while (while wondering where it was myself - not having been able to track it - location and magnitude - for over a week!). Then around 9:15, I picked it out with the binos. Later one guy came up to me and thanked me for encouraging them not to give up.

[mickoking]

Originally Posted by Ric

Sadly it's true that some of the general public are just not interested in the way that we are. I have been doing my best around my workplace to promote interest by putting location maps on the notice boards but looking at the comments written on them it was probably a wasted effort on some people.

I think a lot of people are more interested in the goings on of Paris Hilton than an awsome display of nature, Sign of the times I guess

[ving (David)]

gah! we have teh mexicans (aka grizwalds) up over the hols and yesterday they decided they wanted to see teh comet... guess what! clouds

[astropat]

I still can't see the comet in Brisbane (around 7pm). I guess it may be the buildings blocking the view (although I went up a hill to try overcome that). Does anyone have any suggestion on the location to see it? Besides, is 7pm the best time to see it?

[entilzah]

finaly after over a week of overcast skys ith skys cleared in north tas so last night i went comet hunting couldnt find it until about 9:40 and after that the view just got better and better was worth the wait

[netwolf]

Moments in life that humble even the giants amongst us and make them speechless. Moments when the heavens open up and unleash there wonder to the naked eye. Moments when the heavens share for all to witness. Moments when we become equal in humility at the awesomeness of the universe. Moments such as these are rare and precious. Even when they pass they leave us with the knowledge that behind that dark curtain of space lie in wait many more wonders. And one hopes a desire to seek out those wonders.

In this age when more than ever the world stands at the brink of war, when violence abounds the earth and innocence dies in the blink of an eye. When man suspects everything and everyone. In this age we are rewarded with a wonder to humble us and remind us how small we are. How fragile we are.

Then comes news of the heroes those rare men and women who fight an enemy with the very essence of life water. They fight the fires that rage for the safe keeping of others. They walk into the flames with fear but defiant, they are the unsung courages heroes of our times. They give us hope that there will be a tomorrow to see more wonders of this universe.

Regards
Fahim

[Rodstar (Rod)]

After having seen some great views of the Comet at the IIS Lostock starparty, I managed to cajole my wife (and the kids) into coming up to Peats Ridge, 20 mins from Gosford, to see the Comet last night.

It was great to be joined by Rocket Boy and two of his boys, together with about 8 or 9 interested locals. One of them was an old bloke who had been trying to find the comet all week, without knowing where he should be looking. Another was a teenager, who stopped to see what all the fuss was about, and was so blown away, he raced off to get his sister (and the rest of the family), and returned promptly with all of them!

The newcomers to astronomy quickly learnt how important dark adaption is. Much to our amazement, annoyance and bemusement (all at once), another person pulled up their vehicle with headlights blinding us, hopped out of his car, took a leak, and then carried on his way. He was completely oblivious to the band of spectators.

AFter having viewed the comet for about 30 minutes, my wife, who has zero interest in our great hobby, was heard to say something to the effect, " I am really glad I came". Now THAT is a miracle.

In terms of the appearance of said comet, having previously viewed the comet last Monday, Friday and Saturday nights, the comet definitely appeared to have past its maximum brightness, which from my observations seemed to be reached last Saturday night.

[CometGuy]

The comet is holding its brightness well though. I expect it will still be a good naked eye object of magnitude 3 as the moon moves out of the sky in early February. I suspect it will still have a long dust tail as well.

Terry

[Grinz]

Hi all - there has been quite a bit of coverage in the media, among others because some of them know me. Many pictures published. Also, we had hundreds of people joining us on the beaches all over the Cape during the past few clear evenings and even people who are normally not at all interested in "looking up" have done so and are busily taking pictures. Rodstar, my sister and her husband are in the same category as your wife and they did not only come and look, but stayed for more than an hour and loved the experience.

Of course many (I guess the majority by some margin) still don't know and do not care. But we at our club have had some "I think I discovered a comet!" e-mails and calls and also a lot of people simply stopping by, looking at what we were looking at and then staying for a while and saying that they will also tell their friends & family to look.

BTW Netwolf, I loved your thoughtful and well-written post!

Just wish I could send a "real personal look" of McNaught to some of my astro friends in the Northern Hemisphere. Many of them seem to think or assume that it has now faded and is no longer of interest (perhaps because they cannot see it themselves - understandable in a way). This is something that I wish all of the planet could see at its best (OK, possibly getting to be past its best although we don't really want to believe that yet... )

BTW I see the information I fed into my planetarium program had it at mag 6 yesterday and 6.3 today. No ways! The brightness has definitely been underestimated. What do your projections tell you? (I use Skymap Pro)

Final word from me today: how do we do the right kind of cloud dance that will ensure a thick cloud in front of the moon for the next 10 days or so - while leaving the area around the comet clear of course? Anyone in NZ know the right Haka or something? For once this Springbok supporter will stomp & shout and dance along with you if it works - but just right, as ordered above... Mind you ONLY in the right spot, nowhere else.

[gaa_ian (Ian)]

Good on you Nettie & Ric, great public outreach work there !
Well, we had a clearish night here but to my disappointment we could not see the comet ?
It must be lower on the horizon that i expected or else the distant thunderstorms in that direction were interfering, obviously a lot lower than at Lostock
Have any other Far North Australian observers (IE: Cairns or north) seen Ncnaught ?

[timtam]

Hi, I am new to this forum but have been lurking since Comet McNaught has appeared. Sadly I live in Townsville and the past two weeks we have had cloud cover no end . Tonight we drove west as we saw a break in the clouds where the sun was setting but alas once again cloud rolled in and spoiled our fun. I did see what looked like the end of the tail. but not really certain, it almost looked like diffused torch light coming from the horizon and was in the position that it should of been IYKWIM. Anyhow, we have still not given up hope, any tips as to WHAT to look for would be greatly appreciated. TAM