| stevecoe |
| ("Astronomical Tourist") |
| 05/01/08 07:17 PM |
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Comet Boattini and the reddest star in the sky
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howdy all;
Comet Boattini will be about one degree west of "V Hydrae" the reddest star in the sky. It should make a fascinating field of view with a wide field scope or big binoculars.
approx RA and Dec 10hr 48min -21 55
Enjoy;
Steve Coe
| CESDewar |
| (GorillAstronomer) |
| 05/01/08 10:50 PM |
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Re: Comet Boattini and the reddest star in the sky
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Thanks! I was out last night and had no difficulty seeing the comet in my 11x56 binoculars, but I wasn't aware it was that close to something else of interest.
BTW I assuming that "V" Hydrae is HIP53085, right? I didn't notice it, but then again I was so fixed on catching Boattini, that I wasn't looking at anything else! Cloudy tonight
, but if it clears a bit tomorrow night, it will still only be 1.4° away and close enough to catch in my big binoculars...
| Jeremy Perez |
| (Carpal Tunnel) |
| 05/02/08 12:29 PM |
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Re: Comet Boattini and the reddest star in the sky
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Hey Steve,
They made a nice pair again last night. Not as close as Wednesday night, but still a beauty of a view.
I haven't yet made a point of picking my way along a comet's predicted path to look for interesting groupings, but I doubt I would've thought to look for a feisty carbon star. I'm glad I happened to be looking Wednesday--and if not, your notice would've helped for Thursday. Did you get a chance to check it out last night while you were watching bolides explode over Phoenix?
| stevecoe |
| ("Astronomical Tourist") |
| 05/02/08 02:16 PM |
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Re: Comet Boattini and the reddest star in the sky
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Jeremy, et al;
From my backyard in the Phoenix glow the comet is not much. I could "see" it but just barely. A real lesson in what the glow of a million lights can do to ruin the night sky. But I did get a hint of what it might look like tonight far from those lights.
Using the 80mm ED that is piggybacked on the Nexstar 11 the comet and V Hyd do both fit in the field easily. The star is medium orange color and the comet is just barely visible as a round glow against the light pollution.
Clear skies to us all;
Steve Coe
| rocco13 |
| (Got Milk?) |
| 05/02/08 06:13 PM |
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Re: Comet Boattini and the reddest star in the sky
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Thanks for the heads up, Steve. I'm heading down to a dark sky site south of Phx tonight and this will definitely be on my list.