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.
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 |
What's Up for June 2010 by Jane Houston Jones
