Deirdre Kelleghan  skysketcher@gmail.com
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C/2009 R1 McNaught Up above the chimney pots, that's where you'll find it . - What's Up for June 2010

6/20/2010

 
My first comet observations were in 1986, Halley’s Comet from my back garden. A red Tasco telescope, 70mm, which was mounted on the wobbliest tripod in the universe.  No matter what size they are to my view, comets have always captivated my excitement.  Times of observing way back then , taken from my souvenir Halley’s Comet Swatch watch, both products sold on the back of comet fever.

C/2009 R1 Mc Naught is keeping me up late or early depending on how you view the twilight vista, the night that never truly forms at Solstice time.

As McNaught journeys on toward the sun its perceived observable path brings it charging toward Capella.  Each evening it drops closer to the chimney pots silhouetted in blue on the houses behind my garden. I retreat further each evening and am now positioned deep in the undergrowth surrounded by pampas grass (ouch) and bushes.

My suburban viewings do not reveal Mc Naught’s tail or green colour. However I am having a very enjoyable experience with this icy wonder to our inner solar system.

Constellation Auriga

Nucleus a few miles long

Coma 400,000 Km in diameter

Tail 1.6 Million Km long

Only visible for a few more twilights

Distance from Earth 170 Million Km

Moving very fast indeed

 

Here is a tiny video I made to show the movement of the comet over the course of a few hours.
Below you will find a pdf map of the sky showing the path of McNaught The video is made up from four sketches of the comet , using my 200 mm dob scope and a 32 mm eyepiece. A fuzzy blob moving through  a triangle of stars in Perseus.

 

 

web_mcnaught_path.pdf
File Size: 209 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Very useful for finding McNaugbt , the ISS and other wonders is Heavens Above
What's Up for June 2010 by Jane Houston Jones

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    Deirdre Kelleghan is amateur astronomer,
    an artist and also  likes to write.

    "The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be lighted"
    Plutarch

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