Comet McNaught (2006/P1) - discussions

[matt]

Wow!

I didn't know it had such high altitude and elongation from the sun.

That's a real shock. I've been looking for it waaaaay too close

[Outbackmanyep]

Ok, my morning attempt was NFG, looks like its out of view for another week or so for me!
Terry Lovejoy's image in daytime was really good to see! You got a good one there Tornado33!
has anyone been able to check visually if its visible in daytime or not? I know its risky but some of us would at least have tried!

Cheers!

[tornado33]

Before fitting the infrared filter (which is bigger than 2 inch and has to be fitted inside the focusser) I used a 16mm nagler to visually search, but the sky was blindingly bright due to the haze. I could see venus easily but I knew it was too bright a sky for the comet today, hence the IR filter was used as IR cuts through haze better.

Will try every clear day though. I predict its probably bright enough now to see visually through a scope if the sky is free of haze (a nice deep blue)
Scott

[dcnicholls]

Originally Posted by tornado33

PS wouldnt it be great if it got as bright as this one
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C/1882_R1
It got to mag-17!
it could be seen next to the sun in the day without a telescope!

My grandmother was a teenager when Halley came by in 1910. That passage was a dazzling one, with the comet stretching half way across the sky. But her mother said, "it's very nice, but, oh, you should have seen the comet of 1882"

Ikeya Seki - another mag-17 Kreutz sungrazer - will have to do me. It too was visible next to the Sun in daylight at perihelion, though I tried and couldn't see it.

DN

[acropolite (Phil)]

No doubt about it Terry, You've sure lived up to the CometGuy name...

[Hipocracy]

Hey all, this is my first post and I am definatly an amateur when it comes to astronomy! Though it has always interested me. I read that the Comet will be visible in the west on the 14th just after sunset. Is this true? Also do the directions posted here (SW and SSW if i remember correctly) refer to night time viewing as well? I'm assuming that will be the best time to see it. I know i will be out every night for a week trying to catch a glimpse

[tornado33]

Excellent
According to the ephemeris, it will get nearly 2 mags brighter, so a possibly mag-3 comet, mayby more with foward scattering will be very nice.
Scott

[h0ughy (David)]

PLease pLease please let it get better when we get to see it!!!!!!!!!

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Steady Dave, you'll jinx yourself.

[davidpretorius]

am i right in thinking that up until the 12th, it is in beating the sun to set ie rising earlier in the mornning and then reversed after the 12th.

I am up early for saturn tomorrow so will try and spot it

[h0ughy (David)]

Originally Posted by Hipocracy

Hey all, this is my first post and I am definatly an amateur when it comes to astronomy! Though it has always interested me. I read that the Comet will be visible in the west on the 14th just after sunset. Is this true? Also do the directions posted here (SW and SSW if i remember correctly) refer to night time viewing as well? I'm assuming that will be the best time to see it. I know i will be out every night for a week trying to catch a glimpse

and you picked a fine time to join

go back through this post, and you will find the answers but basically from the 14th onwards it will get higher and also fade, lts hope it doesnt do the latter quickly

[iceman (Mike)]

Hi all

Even though I merged 2 threads the other day, I think Glen is right in having separate threads because otherwise the 1 thread will get very large, and people will keep posting "how do I find it" because the thread is too big to find the maps etc.

So i've created 3 threads, please try and keep your posts to the appropriate thread. I may move posts from time to time to keep them on-topic for the thread title.

I've made all the threads sticky, so you'll find them in the top section of the thread listing.

Comet McNaught (2006/P1) - maps and viewing guides

Comet McNaught (2006/P1) - images

Comet McNaught (2006/P1) - discussions (this thread)

Thanks!

[CometGuy]

Just a few interesting notes from Today.

Dennis Di Cicco, saw it visually in Daylight on the 7th January using a 5" Televue refractor. Rob McNaught and Gordon Garradd also made visual observations of the comet today at Siding Springs also using a 5" refractor. Gary Kronk has also been following the comet in daylight in addition to Scott Adler and myself. It was cloudy here so no chance, maybe tommorrow.

Current magnitude estimates seem to put the comet at no less than mag -1, but that will like have increased again by the morning!

Terry

[gaa_ian (Ian)]

Some great shots on Spaceweather:
http://www.spaceweather.com/
The comet has brightened substantially in just 1 day !
I look forward to seeing it at Lostock from up on the hill.

[glenc (Glen)]

Here are some new magnitudes.

COMET C/2006 P1 (McNaught)
Total-magnitude and coma-diameter estimates (visual unless otherwise noted):
2007
Jan. 9.02, -1.0:*, -- (R. A. Keen, Mt. Thorodin, CO, naked eye; alt. 2.5 deg, bright twilight and thin cirrus clouds; short naked-eye tail);
8.66, -1.0*, -- (B. H. Granslo, Nyland, Oslo, Norway, 7x50 binoculars; 3-deg tail; alt 3.9 deg; naut. twilight);
8.26, -1.5:*, 2' (M. Reszelski, Szamotuly-Galowo, Poland, naked eye; alt. 3 deg, bright twilight; naked-eye tail 0.2 deg long);
8.25, -1.2:, 3' (K. Hornoch, Vranov, Czech Republic, naked eye; 0.5-deg tail; very low alt., dawn);
7.90, -1:, & 2' (Y. Nagai, Gunma, Japan, 11x80 binoculars; 0.2-deg tail; alt. 2.8 deg; civil twilight);
7.48, -0.5:*, -- (D. W. E. Green, Rowley, MA, U.S.A., 7x35 binoculars; alt. 4 deg, bright twilight; bright, small head with short tail);
7.30, 0.0:*, 1' (N. Biver, Meudon, France, 7x50 binoculars; 0.4-deg tail; alt. 5.7 deg; civil twilight);
from
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/icq/CometMags.html

[glenc (Glen)]

Great Comets in History
http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/?great_comets
A list of bright comets.
There have been 7 comets with magnitudes brighter than 0 since the telescope was invented according to this list.

[dcnicholls]

Interesting, but the magnitude list is a bit deceptive: "in a dark sky". How defined? Ikeya Seki's nucleus was easily brighter than mag 0 when the sky was quite dark, with just a trace of twilight on the eastern horizon, on Oct 31 1965, yet it's listed as mag 2, and on Oct 14, 7 days before(!) perehelion, so I think whoever compiled the list was a a bit arbitrary. Take with a grain of salt.

[venus (Lydia)]

If this quote is anything to go by then we are in for a magnificent display,http://www.spaceweather.com/ if only those clouds would go....

""I saw the comet easily with my naked eyes," he adds. "I hope everybody goes outside to see it."

To see Comet McNaught, a clear view of the horizon is essential. In the morning, go outside and face east. The comet emerges just ahead of the rising sun. In the evening, face the other way--west. The comet pops out of the western twilight as soon as the sun sets. Binoculars reveal a pretty, gaseous tail."

[CometGuy]

DN,

I agree that list is is a bit arbitrary and there are lot of errors/omissions. Just adding to DN’s comments where are the Great Comets of 1947, 1948, 1957 (Both of them!) and 1962 (Seki-Lines)? Hyakutake was definitely brighter than mag 0 and Comet 1861 J1 (Tebbutt) was probably closer to mag -2 to -3 in a dark sky.

Just noticed new recent observations put the comet at mag -2 to -2.5, not sure how reliable they are. But it sure is getting bright!

Terry

[dcnicholls]

Agreed. There are a few obvious gaps!

I notice the curves on Seiichi Yoshida's page at http://www.aerith.net/comet/catalog/2006P1/2006P1.html show the observations trending well above the model, even ignoring one outlier.

Looking good.

DN