Anyone got some rough directions for best viewing time and where to look for it (approx vector from what object to what object (i dont know bearings yet)). For WA (particularly kalgoorlie if possible).
Or know where I can find that info?
Aaron, can you find Saturn in the North Eastern sky around 11pm? Search around a bit "above" Saturn, perhaps a bit north of directly "above" Saturn, I think. You'll find the fuzzy ball in binoculars without much trouble.
Download stellarium (Free). I find it great for getting a bearing on where things are in the area you live. It does not have Lulin listed (not on mine) but with the many spotter maps in google you can use the planetarium software to help locate the constilations and best times to view.
I'll see how acurate it is, with Titans transit of saturn tonight as stellarium shows the moons passing in front of the planet as well. You simply have to zoom in is all. Great Program.
AAAAAAAArrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhh more clouds forming!!!!!!
Eric face East at 10pm and Lulin is above Saturn, 20 degrees to the left of East and about 20 degrees above the horizon. Dark adapt for at least 5 minutes, keep away from lights and use your finder or binoculars to have a look.
Just look in the program files\stellarium\data for the ssystem.ini file open it with wordpad and paste the above data at the bottom of the file and then save.
Next time you start stellarium search for "lulin" and you will find it following on behind Saturn.
Thanks Barry,
Should of checked back here earlier for that. Good to know I can add things like that!. Anyways we spent ages looking at the star next to Saturn wondering if that was it. Then we noted somthing like a globular cluster...LOL ...talk about newbies... It did not take long after that to realize that it was in fact Lulin. The more we looked the more we saw the tail, particularly with slight averted vision. Looked fantastic with a 2" 42mm EP in my 12" Dob. Very Bright & Sharp image with a tail that spread across the Fov.
I guess next time I go comet hunting, I'll look for globulars
At 1:30 am (UT+11) on 25/2/09 Lulin was magnitude 4.8 (the same as 58 in Leo with the naked eye) and diameter 15' at 190x with a 12" Dobsonian. The eastern tail was 2.1 degrees long in pa 115. The galaxy NGC 3604 (mag 12.4) was near the end of the tail but much more distant. The comet was 61.6 million km away, the galaxy 68 million light years. Hence the galaxy is 10 million million times more distant. The comet and tail were magnificent in 20x80 binoculars with their 3.2 degree field.
We were trying to see NGC3627, a galaxy 35 million ly away. No luck on that, but next time I'm camping out. It's amazing how long you can keep searching with a 12" Dob.
Aaron, can you find Saturn in the North Eastern sky around 11pm? Search around a bit "above" Saturn, perhaps a bit north of directly "above" Saturn, I think. You'll find the fuzzy ball in binoculars without much trouble.
yeah, that was how i found it ... fuzzy ball, i must admit i was expecting it to be a tad brighter, but still a nice sight.
I thought a lot of people would be disapointed as a few of my friends and others whom really don't star gaze where in a sense led to believe it was a much bigger event than it was. I half guessed it would not be as visible as rated. In fact at the dark site we were at, you still needed Bino's to find it and know how to read a spotters map.
I rated the Titan Transit as a bigger event, however did learn a little more as what to look for when searching for comets.
Is that how most comets show up but only fainter & smaller again as they get further away? Once we found it, we really enjoyed using all the equipment on hand to get the best views.
How big was it & what distance? Was it traveling away from the sun? Does the tail always travel in the same dirrection. Any good links to those questions.
Hi Dave,
Never let the facts get in the way of a good story. Just about every media report of a comet that I have ever seen or contributed to in over 30 years (I was, along with Comet Guy a "flight astronomer" for TAA for Halley's comet in '86 - most people "saw something" at least after a few drinks) overstated the facts for the story and Lulin is no different. Every now and then though we have a winner such as McNaught that just inspires everyone. Often when interviewed by the media they use the best bits, add their own bits and dump the non sexy bits. But the plain facts are that this is a fine relatively bright comet that is nice in binos and as many of the pics now being posted show a very beautiful green comet. So the public expected a shooting green comet that lit the heavens, this will never change just run with it, and get the facts from Ice In Space and other credible sources - some answers to your questions can be found here http://www.skyandtelescope.com/obser.../35992534.html
PeterM
WOW...Thanks Pete,
great link. Never been much of a runner but get what your saying. I've learnt heaps from being a memeber of IIS. Not the quickest learner on the block, but most people seem patient and willing to help.
Thanks...I want to start hunting comets now.
I have been lucky with no cloud again this morning.
With the naked eye Lulin has the same magnitude as the star 48 Leonis which is 5.1.
With 20x80 binoculars the dust tail seems wider but shorter than yesterday, 1.8 degrees long in pa 110.
The attached SkyMapPro map shows the length of the tail on 26/2 at 2:15 am (UT+11) through 20x80s.
I also saw some galaxies in the area with 20x80s: M95, M96, M105, NGC 3371 (mag 10.9), M65, M66 and NGC 3628.
Impressive Glen...I’m going in to get my eyes tested! Is that the normal with a basic pair of 20X80’s...what Pair of Binos were those? Could you actually see more than a smudge, as in a slight shape to the smudge? May I ask how old you are as well...just thinking of the possibility of upgrading and weather its worth is. Were you well aware of all those targets from having looked with a bigger instrument prior to spotting them with you 20X80s. Well done!
Thanks for sharing that
