Comments on: Bright comet this week!

By: Caddie

Caddie — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 19:50:38 +0000

Scotland’s not the place for clear skies – whatever the season – but a brilliant view of Comet McNaught the nicht in bright cloudless skies, virtually due west @ 1900 hours, even without binoculars; with binoculars, the sight is tremendous. Viewed over Cowal peninsula from Helensburgh.

By: JS

JS — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 18:03:50 +0000

This week we can see it in Uruguay, it is amazing to see it at plain view, without needing binoculars. We are going to miss it after is gone

By: Bryant

Bryant — Thu, 18 Jan 2007 20:02:42 +0000

Somebody tell me it wasn’t just wishful thinking!
Late afternoon ( 4:45 p.m. or so) on January 17 in SAlem County, New Jersey (everything I read said Comet McNaught would not be visible in nothern hemisphere after the 15th) I noticed a “sliver” of brightness low in the sky as I drove home (I WAS looking for the comet since I read it had brightened immensely and was visible in daylight–I figured that meant northern hemisphere daylight. Worst of all, I hadn’t been able to spot it in several earlier attempts during the previous week).
Thinking at first it might be a distant airplane contrail, I noticed it did not move and continued to be visible over a period of 15 minutes or more. When I arrived home, I grabbed my binoculars and WOW!!!!! The tail split into two, shimmered around and came together, split again and was spectacular until it got too low to the horizon and blinked out of sight.
Just goes to show, you never know!!!!!

By: icemith

icemith — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 11:22:48 +0000

I’l have to wait about 20 hours to see the McNaught Comet, so I hope it will be fine. I notice that Mark Smith got his shot, I presume in the clear sky over near Parkes, in Australia, so it was a pity I didn’t know about it last week when I came thru that area. However I was not on any computer for the previous month. Such is life.

Do I detect a boo boo in the BA sky sketch above showing the tail of the comet NOT facing away from the Sun? Um, er, or should I have not mentioned it?

Ivan.

By: Comet! | K-Squared Ramblings

Comet! | K-Squared Ramblings — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 01:54:16 +0000

[...] The skies were surprisingly clear today. Four of us walked outside after sunset to a bridge near the office, and saw Comet McNaught. It was visible from ~5:10/5:15 to 5:28, at which point it slipped below the line of hills to the west. [...]

By: A Ler…-- Rastos de Luz

A Ler…-- Rastos de Luz — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 16:15:57 +0000

[...] “Bright comet this week“. Ainda o cometa do momento, no Bad Astronomy. Ainda sobre este tema, a ler “Comet Mcnaught (C/2006 P1) Finally! (with pictures)“, no Astroprof’s Page, e “Comet C/2006 P1 Mcnaught”, primeira e segunda partes, no Davep’s Astronomy, e “See the Brighest Comet in 30 years“, no Universe Today. “The Interstellar medium along the Sun’s Trajectory“, no Astroprof’s Page. [...]

By: Ed Davies

Ed Davies — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 13:10:42 +0000

Seen here in High Wycombe, UK (between London and Oxford) on Wednesday and Thursday evenings by various members of Wycombe Astronomical Society. One nice picture submitted to our image gallery so far:
http://wycombeastro.org.uk/gallery/comets/stan_McNaught_20070110

By: Lab Lemming

Lab Lemming — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 04:57:18 +0000

Any chance for southern hemisphere observers, or is it on the wrong side of the eccliptic?

By: silence

silence — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 02:00:49 +0000

I got a few co-workers outside to look at this for a few minutes before it sank below the mountains. It was just visible to the unaided eye.

Thanks for the heads-up.

By: Paul Clapham

Paul Clapham — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 00:39:27 +0000

I live in Vancouver, Canada, where it is not worth bothering about these things in the winter because it’s going to be cloudy. But I’m in Calgary for a couple of days and it’s perfectly clear here. So I thought, damn, I didn’t bring my binoculars. But my hotel room faces south, so I looked out the window at about the right time. Okay, there’s Venus, go a bit to the right, and THERE IT IS! right over Hooters, don’t need binoculars and it isn’t anywhere near dark. That’s a bright one for sure.

By: tim

tim — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 23:05:40 +0000

I hope to get a good view of it tonight and take advantage of the unseasonably clear (and cold!) skies here in Seattle.
Sorry I missed you on your visit here, Phil!

By: Kaptain K

Kaptain K — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 22:54:08 +0000

The UK does not have a lock on bad weather. High overcast Tuesday and low thick clouds on the wester horizon yesterday. Now it’s solid overcast, with predictions of rain through the middle of next week!

By: Paul Smith

Paul Smith — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 22:42:23 +0000

Tell me about it, it was cloudy here (in the south-west, UK) until yesterday evening, and then it was a struggle to get an image without cloud in as it just kept rolling in, the break only lasted for a few hours until it rolled back in again. Phew!

By: Stu

Stu — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 22:01:03 +0000

Been observing the comet from here in the UK, despite the ******* weather!!

http://journals.aol.com/stuartatk/Cumbrian-Sky

Photos taken by people who don’t have to contend with the British winter skies show a glorious object…

By: Paul Smith

Paul Smith — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 20:39:20 +0000

I think spotting it with the naked eye will be pretty hard, yesterday I just managed to see its tail, by then the nucleus of the comet was already below the roof line.

It’s an obvious binocular object, but its going to be moving too close to the Sun, on the plus side it should be visible in SOHOs images soon.

Got some pictures of it yesterday http://www.dasmirnov.net/blog/2007/01/11/comet_mcnaught_c_2006_p1

By: DCB

DCB — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 20:36:06 +0000

We tried to look last night — sigh — clouds. That’s what happens when you live in a rain forest. We’ll keep trying. SE Alaska is not so good for sky watching but we do it when we can. Unfortunately all the good stuff does not check out the weather forecast!

By: Mark Smith

Mark Smith — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 19:46:48 +0000

Found the comet myself last night. Still getting over the shock the tail was huge. Sadly no such luck tonight.