AJTony
sage
Reged: 04/17/04
Posts: 379
Loc: Hamilton Square, NJ
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Has anyone been watching the "Green Comet", comet Swan? I knew it was wishful thinking for me to have any sort of decent view, because first of all, it is low in the North Western sky, and my other problem is that from my home location in New Jersey, I have to look right into the skyglow of the city of Trenton.
However, thanks to Starry Night running on my laptop, and a Red-Dot finder, I easily spotted the comet within a few seconds, using my BT100/45 AT 25x. I could tell right away that under my viewing conditions, no way would I see the green color.
So my question is, has anyone in the forum been able to see the "Green Comet", as green with their binos?
AJ
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Oberwerk BT100-45 Binos
Apogee 25 X 100 Binos
Canon 15 X 50 IS Binos
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camvan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 05/02/05
Posts: 2086
Loc: British Columbia
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when we (dad, brother n I) were looking at it on Friday eventing, it appeared blue to us. we have a clear northern horizon with no light polution. at least, we all said, 'yup, nice blue fuzzy blob', but when I check again, I'll try to pay attention to the 'color' to see if I can differentiate a green from the blue I recall percieving. 
we looked at it with 10x50's, 15x70's and then our 8" with a 2" 28mm plossl and our 10mm Speers-Waler. very nice view...looking at it enough, you can see a very faint, short and diffuse tail. 
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Cameron
"Aperture can only be replaced by even more aperture. Dark transparent skies cannot be replaced by anything else." - Stathis Kafalis
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AJTony
sage
Reged: 04/17/04
Posts: 379
Loc: Hamilton Square, NJ
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Now this picture is what we would all dream of seeing.
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061004.html
AJ
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Oberwerk BT100-45 Binos
Apogee 25 X 100 Binos
Canon 15 X 50 IS Binos
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camvan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 05/02/05
Posts: 2086
Loc: British Columbia
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now that is some sweet image!!! 
btw, it looks blue, not green to me... 
edit - does anyone have any software that shows the expected orbit of this comet? I'm wondering how far away from the sun it is right now. is it coming or going? it's fairly bright in the bino's, brighter than any of the other comet's I've seen in the last lil bit...here's hoping this one becomes something spectacular and visible naked eye!
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Cameron
"Aperture can only be replaced by even more aperture. Dark transparent skies cannot be replaced by anything else." - Stathis Kafalis
Edited by camvan (10/15/06 09:15 PM)
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AJTony
sage
Reged: 04/17/04
Posts: 379
Loc: Hamilton Square, NJ
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Ask, and you shall receive.
http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=ga&id=99&aid=4563
AJ
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Oberwerk BT100-45 Binos
Apogee 25 X 100 Binos
Canon 15 X 50 IS Binos
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Shadow
member
Reged: 10/09/06
Posts: 77
Loc: Southern California
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Arrgh
Did not get my 10x 50's yet
That comet is a beauty!!!!
Thanks
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Resurrected CJZ 10 X 50 Dekarem...DOB: 1939 LOL
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camvan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 05/02/05
Posts: 2086
Loc: British Columbia
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funny how none of those pictures have the actual orientation of the comet set properly 
edit - AJ, of your two giant bino's listed, which do you like the most? no doubt your Canon IS get the most use 
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Cameron
"Aperture can only be replaced by even more aperture. Dark transparent skies cannot be replaced by anything else." - Stathis Kafalis
Edited by camvan (10/15/06 10:54 PM)
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AJTony
sage
Reged: 04/17/04
Posts: 379
Loc: Hamilton Square, NJ
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I like the BT100 the best, but is quite heavy. Reason for my preference is the 45 degree viewing, along with the great mount and tripod. One night, I put the Apogee up against the Obie BT100 for most of the night, and the surprise was that the view/resolution was almost identical. However, the straight view set up can be very frustraing for objects above 50 degrees. Of course, the BT100 has the extra benefit of interchangable eyepieces, although I do spend most of my time with the 25X eyepiece.
On any viewing evening, the 15 X 50 IS is always hanging from my neck. Also, it is the best grab and go, and travel bino.
AJ
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Oberwerk BT100-45 Binos
Apogee 25 X 100 Binos
Canon 15 X 50 IS Binos
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Rich N
Post Laureate
Reged: 09/22/04
Posts: 5312
Loc: San Francisco Bay Area, Calif...
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I saw Swan last night (10/15) in an 18" f/4.5 Obsession Dob.
Nice view. I didn't notice any color.
Rich
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edcannon
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/19/03
Posts: 679
Loc: Austin, Texas
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I managed to see it with my 12x60 on Friday evening for a few minutes, low in the northwest. Conditions didn't allow me to see any color -- it's a surburban site, it was quite early, and it was low in the sky. I was trying to get it in my friend's telescope when low, fast-moving clouds from the south ended the session.
Comet Machholz (late 2004 - early 2005, if memory serves) was green, and it was easy to see the color with my small binoculars (didn't have the 12x60 then).
Speaking of color, recently we were able to see a flaring geosat (AMC-16, for a few minutes visible without binoculars - maybe 10 magnitudes brighter than normal) as the star lambda Aquarii passed very close to it, and next to that white star the satellite was obviously yellowish, even with only 8x.
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Ed Cannon - Austin, Texas, USA
As of 23 August 2008 - Celestron Skymaster 12x60
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edwincjones
Post Laureate
Reged: 04/10/04
Posts: 4423
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Friday night in my miyauchi 26x100 florites I could see a clear pale green color with a ? 1/2 degree tail.
Saturday night in my 8.5x44s I could see a faint fuzzy, gray, without tail.
edj
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n w arkansas
Binocular, Solar, General Amateur Astronomy
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devond
super member
Reged: 08/21/06
Posts: 122
Loc: Northern CA, USA
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Nope, no "green" for me when I last spotted SWAN (last Friday). However, it did serve as a great argument for aperture fever as I could see little more than a grey smudge in my 11x56's but in the 25x100's it really stood out. First time I've heard my wife really GET why I need the big binocs.
-D
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Clear skies,
-DevonD
Bincos: 7x35,10x25,11x56,15x50,15x70,25x100
Scopes: AT66, ST80, 90mm Apex Mak, 100mm Skyview, 8" C8
EPs: Hyps(5,8,21),Pans(22,35),Nagl(3-6),Pentax 10 XW, Orion 3.7 ED-2,Vixen 15 LV, Misc Junk
Mounts: CG-5GT, Orion XHD+PGram, Bogen 501 HDV
Toys: Power-X-Switch S2, BV3 Binoviewer
Money: zilch
---sleep deprivation indicator---
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KennyJ
Reged: 04/27/03
Posts: 10146
Loc: Lancashire UK
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< First time I've heard my wife really GET why I need the big binocs. >
That's an interesting observation , D , if you forgive the obvious pun ! :-)
What OTHER celestial objects typically fall into this category , I wonder ?
Targets which could be classified as " SPOUSE CONVINCERS " ?
Regards , Kenny
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If everyone is thinking the same thing , no-one is thinking - General George S.Patton
Zeiss 7 x 42 BGAT
Captain's Helmsman 7 x 50
Nikon 10 x 42 Superior E
Swift Audubon Kestrel 10 x 50
Helios 15 x 70 Observation
Strathspey 20 x 90
Televue 76 APO
Zeiss 85 Diascope
Helios 102 f5 refractor
Various eyepieces barlows tripods mounts etc.
Panasonic Lumix DMC - TZ5 digital camera
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pcad
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/17/05
Posts: 1501
Loc: Connecticut
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Kenny,
How about open clusters like the Beehive and the Pleiades and the Double Cluster. The Orion Nebula and the Andromeda galaxy come to mind also.
There are some "clusters" which can be too large for some scopes. The Hyades and the cental part of Perseus (for which I can't remember the name). These are just right for impressive bino-views.
Peter
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Peter
Telescopes 25 - 318 mm
Binoculars 15 - 88 mm
Microscope 50x - 1000x
Edited by pcad (10/16/06 08:16 PM)
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devond
super member
Reged: 08/21/06
Posts: 122
Loc: Northern CA, USA
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Kenny,
I think the double cluster would be one of my other "convincer" candidates as IMHO it doesn't reveal nearly as much beauty in smaller scopes. Of course the Orion Nebula and Andromeda are good too but they may provide too much of a good view even in small scopes - making it hard to overcome the wife's crazy desire to send the kid to college someday.
Take care,
-D
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Clear skies,
-DevonD
Bincos: 7x35,10x25,11x56,15x50,15x70,25x100
Scopes: AT66, ST80, 90mm Apex Mak, 100mm Skyview, 8" C8
EPs: Hyps(5,8,21),Pans(22,35),Nagl(3-6),Pentax 10 XW, Orion 3.7 ED-2,Vixen 15 LV, Misc Junk
Mounts: CG-5GT, Orion XHD+PGram, Bogen 501 HDV
Toys: Power-X-Switch S2, BV3 Binoviewer
Money: zilch
---sleep deprivation indicator---
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refractory
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/05/05
Posts: 1016
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But the Double Cluster is one of the 'build a big binoscope' arguments too- much nicer in my 8-inch reflector than in my 80mm Comet Catcher, though that ain't bad either. Also those interesting 'bird foot' clusters (M30-somethings) where you really don't see the individual stars except on the clearest nights with binocs.
Jess Tauber
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Littlegreenman
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 05/09/05
Posts: 1021
Loc: Southern California
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With a little planning, seeing the Andromeda Galaxy rise in the east in 100mm binoculars is pretty impressive. It helps if the east horizon isn't hazy, like rising over mountains.
Littlegreenman
Two eyes
Two antennae
One head
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Shadow
member
Reged: 10/09/06
Posts: 77
Loc: Southern California
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Arrh
I was hoping to point my old 10X 50's to the sky
but don;t think she froze on infinity...
I might just take her out and see what she thinks of the sky...
Poor girl!
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Resurrected CJZ 10 X 50 Dekarem...DOB: 1939 LOL
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camvan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 05/02/05
Posts: 2086
Loc: British Columbia
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we're just to cloudy and ugly out to look at anything 
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Cameron
"Aperture can only be replaced by even more aperture. Dark transparent skies cannot be replaced by anything else." - Stathis Kafalis
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Shadow
member
Reged: 10/09/06
Posts: 77
Loc: Southern California
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Yeah, same here
cloudy
guess I'm not missing much
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Resurrected CJZ 10 X 50 Dekarem...DOB: 1939 LOL
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camvan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 05/02/05
Posts: 2086
Loc: British Columbia
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btw, I swear it's blue, not green! where did this green come from? I mean...even the pictures show it blue, nto green!
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Cameron
"Aperture can only be replaced by even more aperture. Dark transparent skies cannot be replaced by anything else." - Stathis Kafalis
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Shadow
member
Reged: 10/09/06
Posts: 77
Loc: Southern California
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My friemd in
nasa said he saw it
Fri & Sat night in his 10" telescope
and the tail was hardly visible
He said the comet itself was bright
but made no mention of color.
He would have observed it from the coastal mid east US
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Resurrected CJZ 10 X 50 Dekarem...DOB: 1939 LOL
Edited by Shadow (10/17/06 11:53 AM)
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EdZ
Professor EdZ
Reged: 02/15/02
Posts: 12581
Loc: Cumberland, R I , USA42N71.4W
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HMMM, some report that it has been observed to be close to mag 6 and with moderately sized binoculars a tail at least half a degree is seen. Could be that the binoculars with larger exitt pupils are providing a brighter image and it's easier to see.
edz
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Teach a kid something today. The feeling you'll get is one of life's greatest rewards.
member#21
Edited by EdZ (10/17/06 06:33 AM)
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ronharper
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/14/06
Posts: 1006
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I saw it last night, Oct. 16, 2deg W of gamma Boo. I found it easily in a 10x50, then used a 5-inch scope. A hint of a tail could be seen to the NNW with averted vision. Relative to a nearby star, its eastward motion was obvious in 15 minutes. It was 3-4 arcmin across, gradually much brighter in the middle, and looked like globular M92, but without the sprinkles. I didn't notice any color, but my sky was not very dark either.
Ron
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Shadow
member
Reged: 10/09/06
Posts: 77
Loc: Southern California
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My friend gave me a chart
said w 10X50 if the nights are clear
I should be able to see it by the 3rd magnitude star
Gamma Bootes around 8pm PCT.
Here's a diagram...
Is this western sky?
He said orient map with 2 tail stars of big dipper horizontal...
Is this right?
Cool
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Resurrected CJZ 10 X 50 Dekarem...DOB: 1939 LOL
Edited by Shadow (10/17/06 10:04 PM)
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edcannon
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/19/03
Posts: 679
Loc: Austin, Texas
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Last night (Monday evening) my fellow observer got his 200mm dob on it, and he said it looked like a globular so was I sure it wasn't a Messier object. This is from the surburban site, with it quite low in the west (the good direction) - although sky conditions were very nice. No tail nor any color could be seen, although I could see it with my 8x42 binoculars.
Later I could see all of the stars of the Little Dipper without binoculars (mostly averted vision on the faintest one), and I could also see M31 when it was high up. The Milky Way was faintly visible. This is not bad for a surburban site, although to the east is not so good as that's where the city is.
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Ed Cannon - Austin, Texas, USA
As of 23 August 2008 - Celestron Skymaster 12x60
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Shadow
member
Reged: 10/09/06
Posts: 77
Loc: Southern California
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I tried to see it
Sky was very bright
lots of lights & signs made it very difficult
Couldn;t even find big dipper
Not really sure where it is and just couldn;t see it w the naked eye to close in on it.
Saw alot of nice stars
Some interesting double stars
looked like twins
thought it was interesting
Still, I need to find better conditions
and I giess my uncoated optics don';t help
but she saw stars.
Was fun!
Wish I could see more
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Resurrected CJZ 10 X 50 Dekarem...DOB: 1939 LOL
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