Comet McNaught (2006/P1) - discussions - Page 5

fringe_dweller · #81 10-01-2007, 03:48 PM

my pet peeve would have to be about the lack of recognition of southern comet C/2000 WM1 (LINEAR) as a 'brilliant' comet after its outburst end of jan 2002
see Gary Kronk's page http://cometography.com/past_comets.html - I mean C/2002 X5 (Kudo-Fujikawa) gets a mention!!! what the!! but not wm1! (and a few others either) bizarre! seems if certain NH notables didnt see it and it wasnt widely observed (most of the east coast of oz had terrible conditions during its best period) - then it didnt happen!
see this wide field 2.5 min single shot we took - using film! with 89% illuminated moon close by on 1st feb 2002.
- hmmm resembles something happening now i cant quite put my finger on it

http://southern-x.org/g-wm2/gallery-pic2.html

Terry's high powered CCD shot of same comet at around that time is one of my fave southern comet shots ever - also the low power telescopic views of this comet at the time of outburst and shortly after, were freakin unbelievable! never been matched since - highly and intricately detailed dusty comet - what else could ya ask for? of course C/2002 V1 (NEAT) was pretty special too - see avatar - but unfortunatly didnt have the elevation that wm1 had at its best.
and i still reckon wm1 was brightr than 2.5 mag - more like 2 easy
oh well maybe we just imagined it?

CometGuy · #82 10-01-2007, 06:40 PM

Kearn,

We should keep wm1 a secret to ourselves! The biggest thing about wm1 was the suprise factor, it sat around magnitude 6-7 for a month then suddenly jumped to magnitude 2-3! The brightness around the head and tail were very impressive, and definitely one of my observing highlights.

I think Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake were still fairly fresh in our minds though which may have some effect on WM1's standing. If it had occured in the early nineties it would have been hailed once of the finest since West's of 1976!

Terry

fringe_dweller · #83 10-01-2007, 07:29 PM

hehe! it sure feels like it was a secret comet Terry!
I think you also once mentioned the fact that if it had been an evening comet (at that point in its apparition), rather than a morning one, its best views memory would not be shared by so few people, aint that the truth!

...anyway back to the beast at hand :-))))) ..bring it on P1!

CometGuy · #84 10-01-2007, 09:59 PM

Timo Karhula from Sweden just posted a daylight observation made with 10 x 50 binoculars. In his words:

"I had been plagued by bad weather the entire last week. Therefore,
I had not seen this comet C/2006 P1 (McNaught) until a few hours
ago. This morning, while having breakfast, I looked out from my
kitchen window and I immediately spotted a star with about 1° tail
towards "half past ten"! Of my 107 observed comets, it has never
before occurred that my naked eyes have been my
discovery "instrument"! Comet McNaught looked about a half a
magnitude fainter than Jupiter but when taking into account the
lower altitude of the comet and the brighter background, I would
estimate the comet's brightness as magnitude -2.0 or a little
brighter.

I lost both Jupiter and the comet from naked eye sight when the
solar altitude was -2°. I continued to follow comet McNaught until
8:50 am local time with my 10x50 binoculars when I saw the rising
sun! This was my second daylight comet. The first was Hale-Bopp
which I followed with my C-8 telescope until after sunrise one
morning. Comet McNaught seemed to be much easier with 10x50
binoculars, so McNaught is much brighter than Hale-Bopp at its
brightest. I never saw comet West because I was not an observing
amateur by then so I can't compare McNaught to it. Hale-Bopp and
Hyakutake were prettier due their locations in a dark sky and with
their complex and long tails. McNaught was so cute with its naked
eye tail in the bright twilight.

/Timo Karhula (Sweden, latitude 60 N)
"

CoombellKid · #85 11-01-2007, 12:27 PM

It's cool guy's, comet C/2000 WM1 (LINEAR) does get a mention here, they
say it reached -2.5

Brightest comets seen since 1935...
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/icq/brightest.html

regards,CS sunny days

h0ughy (David) · #86 11-01-2007, 01:38 PM

Have to post this ---- this is one very happy Scotty! Well done mate!

From: Scott Alder
Sent: Thursday, 11 January 2007 1:07 PM
To: David Hough; Paul Mayo
Subject: I saw the comet!!!

Yes, as soon as I got home, noting the clear blue sky I set up even before having lunch. After dialling up the comets position with the Argo Navis, a short visual look around the field and bingo, there it was, a very tight central condensation, pure white in colour with a small amount of extended "nebulosity" around it. I was stunned to see a comet in broad daylight. Its still far enough away from the Sun that no sunlight falls on the primary.

I tried low and higher magnifications. As seeing was limiting resolution it paid to keep looking, every now and then a good patch of seeing would show a stellarlike core, quite bright. Imagine how this would look under a dark night sky.

Needless to say I imaged it. I could see it clearly in the camera viewfinder!
Images to follow.
Scott

fringe_dweller · #87 11-01-2007, 01:42 PM

Hi Rob, the problem with recorded and official comet magnitudes is that it is for the head only, it doesnt take into consideration tail brightness, which can be as bright as the head.
Also there being two basic types of comets - dusty comets and gas comets (and combinations of both of course) the intrinsic tail brightness is what makes or breaks a comet imo - there are generally fewer 'Great' gas only comets than dusty ones - Hyakutake is an exception that comes to mind - to see the solar wind etched into the great ion tail and naked eye kink/tail disturbance/disconnection on the large screen of the firmament is something myself and some friends will never forget - in fact it has fuelled this madness us for many years

but that was more because of its close proximity to earth at the time than it being a brute of a comet physically.
Naked eye dusty comets are *generally* speaking the best, as I said, because the area of brightness is much larger and therefore more striking to the viewer (and Terry alluded to this earlier when we were talking of wm1 )- they are also the rarer type of comet - but they make you feel like the magnitude doesnt match the true spectacle and brightness and they seem much brighter than the strict technical head only mag estimation. C/2002 V1 (NEAT) was also is in this category - that is the best mag 4 -5 comet i have ever seen!!!!! - and WM1 is the best mag 2-3 comet i have ever seen!

that list is a giggle - V1 was only that bright in SOHO C3 no one ever saw it that bright with there eyes, and there is NO way C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) was better than wm1, it was half the comet that wm1 was after its crack-up, besides I though T7 only got to 2.5 at best from memory (it was mainly a gas comet)

fringe_dweller · #88 11-01-2007, 01:55 PM

now i remember, coz northern favouring Ikeya-Zhang was happening at around the same time as wm1, it stole its thunder a bit
compare how many mentions wm1 gets to izzy on apod

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/...d_search?comet

look at early 2002

thats a perfect example of NH bias

tornado33 · #89 11-01-2007, 02:22 PM

Yes, Ive just finished my images, posted in the images thread for this comet
I have never seen a comet with the sun up before, let alone the middle of the day! It was so exciting seeing it against the bright blue sky. Gee its brightening FAST! yet still far enough off the Sun to not have sunlight falling on the primary mirror, I can get a good deal closer, I should be able to follow it through perihelion.

It looks like a tiny compact globular, and when the seeing allows reveals a pinpoint white bright core. It looks best just in white light though was still quite visible through a Baade rnarrowband O3 filter.
With the 10 inch scopes drive on I just stared at it fascinated at what I was seeing for some time despite the cooking sun on me.
Scott

tornado33 · #90 11-01-2007, 02:35 PM

Update
just had another look, the seabreeze noreaster seems to have smoothed the seeing a bit, and I can definately see a tail now. The surface brightness of the central condensation must be incredible.
Scott

dcnicholls · #91 11-01-2007, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by h0ughy

Have to post this ---- this is one very happy Scotty! Well done mate!

From: Scott Alder
Subject: I saw the comet!!!

Yes, as soon as I got home, noting the clear blue sky I set up even before having lunch. After dialling up the comets position with the Argo Navis, a short visual look around the field and bingo...

What instrument?

DN

fringe_dweller · #92 11-01-2007, 02:49 PM

nice one Scott! i'm with Bert, i aint risking my precious eyesight this close to the main event

(no GOTO - dobby) should be even easier on the weekend/monday to do tho, hopefully

will try it when near sunset then i think

tornado33 · #93 11-01-2007, 03:03 PM

I used my 10 inch F5.6 Newtonian, with a 1 foot long lightshield to reduce glare a bit.
I used 16mm nagler, MA 25mm, and a 2.8 barlow on the 15mm as well. All showed the comet readily.
yes great care must be taken to avoid an accedental sweep across the Sun. I find aligning off the sun with a solar filter on is good for the Argo navis, I then move to the comets position and only then remove the solar filter and put on the lightshield.
Scott

dcnicholls · #94 11-01-2007, 03:16 PM

I had a look with Oberwerk-style 25x100 binoculars today, with no luck. But only monted on a tripod, no GoTo.

DN

tornado33 · #95 11-01-2007, 03:36 PM

Seeings starting to get worse again, and sky brighter, (looked about 3:20 pm)though its still there. Cant wait to see what tomorrow holds.
Scott

tornado33 · #96 11-01-2007, 05:46 PM

Just had another look, at 5:40 pm!, sky is blazingly bright, and comet getting low but I can still see it! cant see the tail now but the central condensation is very intense, gee what will tomorrow bring?
Scott
PS another phenonemon ive noted, the declination movement of the comet is significant, each time I look the Argo navis indicates its moved in DEC.
Gee some mag estimates put it at -3 now!
http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/icq/CometMags.html

dcnicholls · #97 11-01-2007, 05:52 PM

Dave Herald here in CBR saw it in the 5x50 finder attached to his Meade 14" mid afternoon. He said the GoTo mount was critical to seeing it, but nonetheless visible.

DN

CometGuy · #98 11-01-2007, 07:55 PM

Scott, I notice you mention that the comet seemed to get brighter during the afternoon in the imaging section. I wonder if the forward scattering effect is now starting to kick in? The prediction by Joe Marcus suggests 0.7 mag enhancement by 0 UT tommorrow which would be putting the comet close to mag -4.0.

I notice John Bortle posted that the comet was still quite a bit fainter than West's this morning (our time) but its brightness record will problably fall!

Terry

tornado33 · #99 11-01-2007, 10:18 PM

Yes especially the central condensation, it seemed more intense. Gee will it get bright enough for any naked eye daytime viewings, say aside a building that blocks the sun?
Scott

Mikezoom · #**100** 11-01-2007, 10:31 PM

Heh, I've been trying that Scott.... nothing yet, can't wait for the week ahead!!!!!

Mike.