Comet McNaught (2006/P1) - discussions - Page 27

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #**521** 25-01-2007, 09:33 PM

Looks good already and the sun hasn't long gone down!

My boys look like they are camping in the back yard with the deck chairs, blankets etc.

Looks as if it will be another glorious view tonight. Sky is glass!

entilzah · #**522** 25-01-2007, 09:51 PM

i have to have another look tonight just as well its a public holiday tommrow and at least i have had a couple of my workmates looking even had a couple of questions on why the tail glows ect and how long will it be visible but at least ive got some of them to look up at night anyhow outside i go with a chair and my faithfill companion

fringe_dweller · #**523** 25-01-2007, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MortonH

Anyone else having withdrawal symptons? I haven't seen it since last Saturday!!! How much longer is it likely to be this spectacular?

Morton

depends what your definition of spectacular is Morton

to me it will still be pretty special even when its reduced to ONLY a binocular/long duration exposure tracked imaging at a dark sky site object hehe

but you really need VERY dark skies to appreciate the full monty, or whats left of it, I notice the moon is having strong detrimental effect on the comet tonight, that will only get worse I suppose, for a little while, mornings soon, on weekend, are quite nice before the moon moves into it, maybe?

jjjnettie (Jeanette) · #**524** 25-01-2007, 11:14 PM

So how long should this tail last for? Weeks, Months? Will the solar winds blow it away?

How long before you astrophotographers start complaining about celestial light pollution?

MortonH · #**525** 25-01-2007, 11:31 PM

Hi Kearn, I know what you mean. This is such a special comet that we'll all try to follow it as long as possible. Who cares that it's fading now? It's put on a much better show than I ever expected to see.

Morton

fringe_dweller · #**526** 26-01-2007, 01:16 AM

JJ - how do you mean re: tail lasting? . as a visual thing? or over time in space/solar system,
i am totally whistling in the wind here, but I guesstimate, even as much as 3 weeks from now tail will be holding out, as a binocular/ long exposure object, even if that tail shrinks from view by half! its still a monster?
how long will it last in space, i guess not that long as it is now, on the scale of things, just spread out, i mean the solar wind is still pushing it out as you said - i guess it will dilute and spread out according to the individual particle sizes (edit:and densities), just like meteor showers are made up, denser grains spreads closer to the old original orbit and graduating lighter stuff out further from original perihilion time orbit path, and the tugging gravitational tides of the planets, like jupiter particularly, will further distort and dilute the tail? it sure seems to be looking like it will be an issue re: natural light pollution, that will be interesting. i mean, i remember we were looking at Hale bopp thru scopes 4 years (near the large mag?) after it closest approach/perihelion, that was a bigger object physically, but it didnt have a tail like this?

gday Morton, you put it in a nutshell beautifully, my sentiments also

hope ya get plenty of great nights ahead!

fringe_dweller · #**527** 26-01-2007, 01:34 AM

actually thought about it a bit more, and of course the tiny bits that make up the tail will keep the velocity of the comet, thats how they know the speed of meteor shower meteors, its the same as the parent comet/asteroid, and stays the same forever, unless something affects it, being in a vacumn and that.
They know the speed of the comet by its orbit, if it comes from further out/larger orbit they tend to be/are faster, and of a certain geometric orbit - meteor showers usually only come from periodic comets, like Halleys, or captured oort cloud numbers and never venture far from the sun.
So the tail will in effect keep following the comet (and it is never coming back i have read, or it has a massive orbit of some ridiculous amount of time, cant remember right now, out of the solar sytem kinda - also depends on the chemical composition of particles, maybe they might kinda further break down in size, from ultra-violet light even, bumping into each other ect.?

i could be way off here? dont take my word for it

netwolf · #**528** 26-01-2007, 06:05 AM

I am having withdrawals with this cloud thats hanging over NSW, it would be ok if it rained as we need the rain, but its just hanging on. It rained on Wednesday boy did it rain that was great cause we need it. Then it just stopped and the clouds just hanging around. I just cant get enough. We have a picnic organised for Sunday down south near Stanvilletops area. I hope it clears by then so we can enjoy it.

Regards

iceman (Mike) · #**529** 26-01-2007, 06:53 AM

I haven't seen it since Saturday either.. getting withdrawals.. hoping it clears for tonight.

CoombellKid · #**530** 26-01-2007, 07:39 AM

It would be nice if it cleared up here to, on the north coast. But at least we
got several nights to observe the comet, an it looked rather spectacular
through my new 20x80's.

regards,CS

albys · #**531** 26-01-2007, 01:14 PM

A late first-time sighting here... I'd tried on St Kilda beach on Wednesday night, but saw nothing, I'm still not sure whether it was a case of too much cloud or giving up too early (9.30! my parking time was running out!), maybe both. Thanks to EricK's instructions-for-beginners I thought I'd see what I could see just 5 minutes from home, from the Fitzroy Community Oval, North Fitzroy. Lots of city lights around, but a hell of a clear sky. So I checked out where the sun set, and just before 10pm wandered over to the darkness in the middle of the oval, and -

- spotted the comet within minutes, after checking each star in the general SW direction for a tail. Not too much visible to the naked eye but I knew when I'd found it, and some 15-second photos confirmed it. Only stayed for about 15 minutes as I wanted to get home and call my girlfriend to tell her to get out there and look - we'd been pretty disappointed on the St Kilda visit! She also spotted it without too much trouble from her backyard in Caulfield. So - no special locations are really required to see this thing! But yes, I'm hooked and would like to get a better look!

pics here - http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...&postcount=496

jjjnettie (Jeanette) · #**532** 26-01-2007, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fringe_dweller

also depends on the chemical composition of particles, maybe they might kinda further break down in size, from ultra-violet light even, bumping into each other ect.?
:

So these droplets that make up this tail, start bumping into each other, joining up, getting larger. They move further away from the sun, freeze into a dirty snowball and the whole thing starts over again.
I like that idea.

CometGuy · #**533** 26-01-2007, 09:56 PM

Comet is still hanging in there. Managed to get a very brief view of the coma before in sunk into the cloud, its still brighter than Alpha Pavo (Peacock) and I would estimate around mag 1 or so. The tail was dimly but well visible amongst the scud cloud (the conditions were not great, typical humid Brisbane night).

Terry

netwolf · #**534** 26-01-2007, 10:10 PM

The skies have cleared and I went out to take a look. I spotted it with my Naked eye but its not very bright anymore I guess due to the Moon. I took some shots with by canon A610, processing them now. But the fact that it can be seen with naked eye even with moon light indicates how bright it really is.

Regards
Fahim

Terry B · #**535** 26-01-2007, 10:31 PM

I have just been out looking at it. I have has cloud since last saturday every evening (with about 30mls of good rain

)
It is much dimmer than a week ago but still very visible. There was lots of passing cloud that I had to wait to clear but conveniently for a while the cloud covered the moon but not the comet. The tail was about 10deg to the naked eye. I took some frames with my pentax645 of up to 60 sec duration but they wont be developed till next week. Hopefully not too much trailing with the exposures of that length.
It is still worth a look without the scope or binos.

dcnicholls · #**536** 27-01-2007, 12:16 AM

Comet was quite easily seen from the middle of Canberra tonight (over the Woden town centre lights) with about 22 degrees of main tail perceivable to the naked eye with averted vision, and over ten degrees easy to see. To the south of and below Alpha and Beta Gruis, with the tail extending up past Alpha Tucanae, towards Achernar. Nucleus was a bit south of due SW at 9.45pm, at an altitude a bit less than 10 degrees.

Really clear skies for once, but the moon didn't help and will be getting worse.

While wandering up into the bush tonight (in the Red Hill nature resreve) near where I live, I came across two people standing in the half-moonlight trying to see the comet. It turned out there was a tree between them and the comet. I directed them a few metres to the left and they saw it easily. Today's good deed

And the road up to the lookout on Red Hil has become a traffic nightmare. Bumper to bumper traffic all the way up and back down. There must have been several hundred people trying to view it up there tonight. Yesterday was just as bad.

This comet has really captured the public interest.

DN

loomberah (Gordon) · #**537** 27-01-2007, 02:11 PM

The comet is visible in the mornings as well as the evenings now, but being low in bright twilight before sunrise its not so obvious or spectacular as in the evenings. I had cloud this morning, but was able to see it naked eye without too much difficulty yesterday morning and posted a photo here:
http://members.ozemail.com.au/~loomberah/mcnaught.htm

cheers, Gordon

cometcatcher (Kevin) · #**538** 27-01-2007, 04:40 PM

I saw the photo before the details and I thought that had to be a morning photo. Tail was going the wrong way for evening.

vash (Ashley) · #**539** 27-01-2007, 09:02 PM

I finaly got to see it!.
After a very long period here on the Gold Coast I managed a glimps of it just on dark, I couldn't get a decent photo of it but I'm juist glad that I finaly saw this thing with my own eye's.

I've been very anouyed that it has been cloudy and just by chance I looked in the right spot with the bino's. ah, well, guess I can sleep now that I haven't missed out on it.

CoombellKid · #**540** 27-01-2007, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vash

I finaly got to see it!....

...I've been very anouyed that it has been cloudy and just by chance I looked in the right spot with the bino's. ah, well, guess I can sleep now that I haven't missed out on it.

We've had it a lil rough over the last few days too, but managed to catch
this evening on the 20x80's for a few minites

now we're clouded in again

regards,CS