Via Tom’s Astronomy Blog I learned that there is a bright-ish comet in the sky for northern viewers. Called 8P/Tuttle, it’s hovering right at the edge of naked-eye brightness.
I went out last night after checking Tom’s skymap, seeing that the comet is almost straight overhead after dinnertime. That puts it in a difficult spot for binoculars, but there is a good signpost: the long, skinny triangle of the constellation Triangulum points right at the comet!
So I mounted my binocs on the tripod, put on my flannel-lined pants, my parka, and my gloves (it was about 15 degrees F last night), and headed into the backyard. The nearly vertical alignment of the binoculars did indeed make this difficult, but the comet is easily bright enough to spot: it was a big fuzzy patch about a degree across. However, it’s spread out so much that I doubt it’s really naked-eye visible. I’ll note that at first I wasn’t sure if I was seeing the comet or the big face-on spiral galaxy M33, also known as the Triangulum Galaxy, which is pretty close tot he comet’s position. I went inside to check my own star chart and saw I had the comet.
So I’d recommend trying for it if you have a small telescope or binoculars. It’s very pretty (no tail, but still cool). Spaceweather has been posting tons of images of its encounter with M33, as has my own Bad Astronomy & Universe Today bulletin board. If you get some pictures, post ‘em to BAUT! And check out this picture of the comet with Comet Holmes; it’s incredible.
And I’ll try again tonight, but this time I’ll leave the tripod indoors, and use a chaise longue instead. It’ll be more comfortable!
January 1st, 2008 at 1:16 pm
I saw it last night from the top of Sugarloaf Mountain in MD. Once I’d spied it in the binoculars I could make it out without them as long as the flashlights were off or pointed the other way.
January 1st, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Ahhh, BA, nice to see a man dedicated to his job. So is that how you celebrated the New Year? You know, some went out and celebrated other ways. They woke up this morning seeing stars of another kind….
January 1st, 2008 at 2:36 pm
If I could imagine that the sky might ever clear here this winter, I might imagine that I could see this comet.
Unfortunately, more snow coming today… ugh.
I guess I could build my own comet out of dirt and snow. Then I just have to figure out how to get it into orbit.
January 1st, 2008 at 3:37 pm
I hate our skies here in the city every 6pm to 8pm. It’s always highly light polluted, hazy and covered with thick clouds. This will make Comet Tuttle hard to observe. Nevertheless, I went out last night to try my luck but nah…I only saw Mars & again big thick clouds. I’m going to try again later this evening. I hope this time…skies will clear up for me, hehe
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January 1st, 2008 at 7:05 pm
I finally got a glimpse of Comet 8P/Tuttle this evening with my 10X50 binoculars. It looked like a greenish smudge to me. I saw no tail.
January 2nd, 2008 at 5:37 am
Cloudy here unfortunately so haven’t had a chance to look yet. I normally take a picnic rug out and lie on my back with the binos. It’s great, just let them rest on your eyes and they’re incredibly stable and comfortable.
January 2nd, 2008 at 7:51 am
Why use the numbers and not keep it simple and clear with just the discoverers name liek Halley’s comet …
One of mypet peeves inastronomy whichIthink make sitharder forthegeneral public tounderstand and appreciate the work of astronomers is this numerical catalogue “naming” of things.
Whats it called & how do we prounounce it :
“eight slash Pee Tuttle … Or eight pee Tuttle or Periodic comet 8 Tuittle .. ?”
Or, a-ya-yii-ya-yii-ya, what’s wrong with just plain old Comet Tuttle or Tuttle’s comet?
I mean really!
Minor point – but it helps with communication & science needs to communicate with people I think ..
..
January 2nd, 2008 at 7:53 am
BTW. Any one else recognise the “Gods Must be Crazy” film ref there …
It ain’t swearing, not really, just some emphasising exclaimation along Ned Flanders~esque lines ..
January 2nd, 2008 at 7:57 am
SIGH
One of my pet peeves with ..well this … is the lack of editing capability so when my spacebar doesn’t work and my mind types better than my fingers I get what I’ve written badly above rather than what Imeant which follows here :
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Why use the numbers and not keep it simple and clear with just the discoverers name like Halley’s comet …
One of my pet peeves in astronomy which I think makes it harder for the general public to understand and appreciate the work of astronomers is this numerical catalogue “naming” of things.
What’s wrong with plain old Tuttle’s comet or Comet Tuttle?
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Please BA, please let us edit these posts! Its drives me (more) nuts that I can’t …
January 2nd, 2008 at 8:39 am
I never knew about this comet! Drat! Thanks for the post, BA.
Oh, BTW, I caught you on TV for the first time, yesterday. It was a programme about Mars, and the last few moments were about the face on Mars. Before I could react, you gave your final opinion and vanished!
(It was on National Geographic(non-US).)