Worth a look if you're somewhere with a dark sky. I found it with non-dark adapted eyes in less than 5 minutes wtih a pair of 9 X 63 binoculars. I
think you could see it with unaided eyes in a very dark sky if you dark-adapted for 1/2 hour. It looked brighter to me than Sky and Telescope's prediction; in a few days it should be a fairly easy naked eye object. I had it at -22 degres south, 4h 42 R.A. this evening at 9;30 CDT.
Finding it: draw a line between Betelgeuse, the top left, reddish star in Orion, to Rigel (the bright bottom right star). Go further along that line the same distance again. The comet is right there. It's about 2 degrees (the length of Orion's belt) south of 54 Eridani, which is really the only star easily visible to the unaided eye in the region; it's moving north, and by December 12 should be due East of 54 Eridani. By early January it will be much brighter and next to the Pleiades.
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-33 next last
To: Right Wing Professor
There was a comet a few years ago that went right over the north star.It was like the night sky itself was a giant clock and the comet was its hour hand. Pretty neat.
2 posted on
12/08/2004 8:49:26 PM PST by
Nateman
(The enemies of reason are allies of evil.)
To: RadioAstronomer; edwin hubble; longshadow
Tsk! Letting the amateurs beat you guys at your own game :-).
3 posted on
12/08/2004 8:50:28 PM PST by
RightWingAtheist
(Marxism-the creationism of the left)
To: Right Wing Professor
It was spotted by naked-eye observers for the first time about three weeks ago . . . Amazing naked-eye observers can still make discoveries like this.
To: Right Wing Professor
5 posted on
12/08/2004 8:52:32 PM PST by
AntiGuv
(™)
To: msdrby
6 posted on
12/08/2004 8:53:12 PM PST by
Professional Engineer
(Pulled up behind 'em, pulled out my pistol, and blew 'em away. ~ Chuck Brodsky, minstrel)
To: Right Wing Professor
All I see is the moon and a bunch of dots.
8 posted on
12/08/2004 8:58:25 PM PST by
REDWOOD99
To: RandallFlagg
10 posted on
12/08/2004 9:00:11 PM PST by
CurlyBill
(Mark Levin for the Supreme Court!)
To: Right Wing Professor
Could you put that into laymans (farm people) terms please?
12 posted on
12/08/2004 9:02:47 PM PST by
ChefKeith
(Life is GREAT with CoCo..........NASCAR...everything else is just a game!(Except War & Love))
To: Right Wing Professor
This was described at space.com as the estimated position on January 5th, 8pm local time, at the northern mid-latitudes.
14 posted on
12/08/2004 9:03:17 PM PST by
alancarp
(When does it cease to be "Freedom of the Press" and become outright SEDITION?)
To: Right Wing Professor
15 posted on
12/08/2004 9:05:02 PM PST by
two23
To: Right Wing Professor; Howlin; Molly Pitcher; MozartLover; Miss Marple; lepton; Species8472; ...
16 posted on
12/08/2004 9:05:56 PM PST by
kayak
(Merry CHRISTmas!)
To: Right Wing Professor
Comet Machholz |
|
Coarse finder chart (60° field-of-view, stars to mag. 6.5) |
|
|
Fine finder chart (5° field-of-view, stars to mag. 9.0) |
|
All data valid for local time 06:09:45, 09 Dec (UTC 05:09:45, 09 Dec) |
Geocentric Data |
Right Ascension (J2000): |
4h 41m 19.6s |
Declination (J2000): |
-22° 28' 26" |
Constellation: |
Eridanus |
Magnitude: |
5.6 |
Distance from Earth: |
0.5269 AU |
Light time: |
263 seconds |
|
|
|
Heliocentric Data |
Distance from Sun: |
1.4045 AU |
Perihelion: |
1.2051 AU (24-Jan-2005) |
Aphelion: |
4,838.51 AU |
Period: |
119,039.8 years |
Eccentricity: |
0.999502 |
Inclination to ecliptic: |
38.589° |
Longitude of ascending node: |
93.627° |
Argument of perihelion: |
19.502° |
|
|
22 posted on
12/08/2004 9:13:32 PM PST by
FreedomCalls
(It's the "Statue of Liberty," not the "Statue of Security.")
To: Right Wing Professor
From Sky and Telescope: Comet symbols show it's position at
0:00 Universal Time on the dates indicated; which is on the
evening of the previous date local time in North America.
To: Right Wing Professor
24 posted on
12/08/2004 9:16:41 PM PST by
My2Cents
("Well...there you go again.")
To: Right Wing Professor
Found it. I think. It's the only fuzzy object in the area. Pretty big through the binocs. Using a 12x50 zoom at wide angle. Seems a little on top of the line you drew. Is that correct?
25 posted on
12/08/2004 9:18:33 PM PST by
Eastbound
("Neither a Scrooge nor a Patsy be")
To: Right Wing Professor
Naked Eye.. sounds a bit Ob Seen.
27 posted on
12/08/2004 9:19:17 PM PST by
dc-zoo
To: Right Wing Professor
Graat! Ill be high up in the mountains around Jan 5 and 6 and hopefully will have clear skies.
28 posted on
12/08/2004 9:19:47 PM PST by
Kirkwood
To: Right Wing Professor
Is this any relation to Comet LouHolz?
To: Right Wing Professor
Thanks for the viewing information. My husband is an excellent amateur astronomer. We have an 8" Celestron in a trunk which we'll have to get out and use to find this comet, of course. :-)
38 posted on
12/08/2004 10:09:02 PM PST by
NotJustAnotherPrettyFace
(Michael <a href = "http://www.michaelmoore.com/" title="Miserable Failure">"Miserable Failure"</a>)
To: Right Wing Professor
39 posted on
12/08/2004 10:15:36 PM PST by
apastron
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-33 next last
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson