CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 3081
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Michael,
Another excellent observation of Comet Boattini. This celestial fuzzball is interesting. Thank you for sharing it with us all.
Carlos
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 3479
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Thanks, Carlos, Tommy, and everyone.  Comets are fascinating celestial vistors and I enjoy observing them (when I can find them  ). W1 Boattini was pretty easy to spot from dark sites and they say it won't be back for 63,000 years so this is the main chance. 
Jeff, the comet will remain visible for the next several months as it travels through Aries and Pisces. It is fading but no one really knows how fast that will happen. Btw, the housing on those 15x70's prevents a close-set eyes adjustment of the inter-pupillary distance unless you have a narrow mount adapter (such as a Pentax). I had that problem and had a local machinist custom make me a mount adapter.
Rony, I think that the comet is slightly dimmer now then when I made my observations on the 11th and 12th. Observers in Brasil were estimating a visual magnitude from 5.7 to 6.0 at that time which concurred with my estimate. I think it has dimmed to ~6.4 although estimating comet magnitudes is not easy and I need more practice. I use the Sidgwick method.
Frank, I've been using the binoculars instead of a telescope partly for ease of set up--the window between comet rise and sunrise has been brief and I need to drive to a high point on my farm to get a good view to the eastern horizon. My trusty grab-and-go Astroscan is at the factory being re-collimated or I would be using it along with the binocs. Like you, I discovered a wonderful bonus in the early morning stillness and beautiful sky. Here, the quiet is only broken by owls hunting, deer snorting, and the occaisional howl of a coyote.
This morning I made what will probably be my last observation until the end of the month. Comet Boattini appeared to have traveled about 30 arcminutes in 24 hours. Its apparent motion is slowing as it travels away from us. The transparency was much poorer than yesterday--barely 4/6 in the vicinity of the comet--so I don't know how accurate this is, but it appeared slightly dimmer to me, although still fairly bright. Here is the updated sketch:
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Michael Rosolina
8" f/10 Orange Tube SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
SVP 3.6" f/13.6 CA Reflector
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
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cildarith
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/26/04
Posts: 2115
Loc: San Diego, CA
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Michael, thanks for posting this series of observations of Comet Boatini! Excellent work. 
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Eric
6" f/6 Parks Newtonian
10x50 Bushnell Binocs
CN Sketch Gallery
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PhilH
sage
Reged: 01/27/05
Posts: 232
Loc: Long Island, NY
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Yes, very interesting indeed. I've got to make it a point to get up tomorrow morning and try for it.
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Phil Harrington
"Binocular Universe" Columnist, Astronomy magazine
Author: Star Ware || Star Watch || Touring the Universe through Binoculars || et al...
http://www.philharrington.net
http://www.observingsites.com
"Two eyes are better than one!"
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 3479
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Eric, Phil, thank you very much--high praise indeed from two very skilled observers.
We've had an amazingly long stretch of clear weather here and not wanting to waste it, I got up again to make one last observation of W1 Boattini. At 0820 UT (4:20 AM local), the Moon was still 55 minutes from setting and the comet could just barely be seen at an altitude of 29° as a faint smudge next to 8.0 magnitude star TYC651-258-1 (the star was right at the threshold of visibilty in the moonlight, too). By 0840 UT, Luna had dropped low enough to allow a better look at the coma and central condensation, although this comet is best seen in dark skies. It remains fairly large and bright given the conditions. I updated my sketch with the comet's new position. It may be traveling closer to 35 minutes of arc in 24 hours rather than 30 minutes.
[Edit: I added details to the original sketch from my observing notes for each subsequent observation.]
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Michael Rosolina
8" f/10 Orange Tube SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
SVP 3.6" f/13.6 CA Reflector
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
Edited by Special Ed (07/18/08 10:25 AM)
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rolandlinda3
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 01/24/06
Posts: 1591
Loc: Crozet VA 22932
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Good sketch and like your maps with the update. Roland
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 3479
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Thanks, Roland. Btw, comets are great targets for a set up like your Mallincam.
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Michael Rosolina
8" f/10 Orange Tube SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
SVP 3.6" f/13.6 CA Reflector
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 3081
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Michael,
Excellent observations of Comet Boattini. Following the comet through star fields is interesting. I lok forward to your future observations.
Carlos
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 3479
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Carlos,
Thank you very much. Yes, following this "hairy star" is fun when the weather permits. I'd like to pick up the comet again and make another series at the end of the month. It will be in Aries by then.
I hope you get the opportunity to observe this comet when the Moon wanes--I'd love to see one of your world-class sketches.
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Michael Rosolina
8" f/10 Orange Tube SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
SVP 3.6" f/13.6 CA Reflector
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
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frank5817
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/13/06
Posts: 3003
Loc: Illinois
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Michael,
Great sketching updates on comet Boattini. Keep them coming as you can. 
Frank
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 3479
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Thanks, Frank.
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Michael Rosolina
8" f/10 Orange Tube SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
SVP 3.6" f/13.6 CA Reflector
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 3479
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Hi everyone,
I made this observation and field sketch of W1 Boattini earlier this week and thought I'd post it. The sketch was done with HB and 2B pencils and a stump, then inverted with the computer.
The comet is fading but is still an interesting object to observe.
My satellite internet equipment has been down for two weeks and was just repaired. There are a lot of nice sketches posted--I'm looking forward to viewing them.
Best to all,
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Michael Rosolina
8" f/10 Orange Tube SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
SVP 3.6" f/13.6 CA Reflector
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
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CarlosEH
Post Laureate
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 3081
Loc: Pembroke Pines, Broward County...
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Michael,
An excellent observation of this insteresting comet. I hope to get a chance to view it myself soon. Thank you for sharing it with us all. Happy Observing!
Carlos
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frank5817
Post Laureate
Reged: 06/13/06
Posts: 3003
Loc: Illinois
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Michael,
Beautiful drawing and thanks for keeping us informed on where this icy snowball is in the heavens.
Frank
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Tommy5
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 03/28/04
Posts: 1382
Loc: Chicagoland
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thanks for keepng us posted on the progress of this morning comet great sketch again.
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 3479
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Carlos, Frank, T5, thanks! I had been observing the comet with the 15x70 binoculars when it was brighter and only visible for a short period just before dawn. Now that it is dimmer and higher in the sky for a couple of hours before dawn, I'm using the rich field 4.25" (108mm) dobsonian Astroscan reflector to locate it and get higher power views. I just got the Astroscan back after sending it to Edmunds to be re-collimated (it must be re-collimated at the factory) and I'm happy to report that the view is improved. It's a handy little scope to use when your time is limited.
I would have liked to have another look by now, but weather, farm work, and staff development for the upcoming school year have intervened. Soon, I hope!
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Michael Rosolina
8" f/10 Orange Tube SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
SVP 3.6" f/13.6 CA Reflector
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
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rodelaet
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/28/06
Posts: 2632
Loc: 50°56' N - 4°58' E (Belgium)
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Michael,
You have made an interesting series of observations of this beautiful comet.
And I have great pleasure with looking at them.
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Rony
My Astronomy Sketches
My Binocular Sketches
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 3479
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Thank you very much, Rony.
I posted this update of the comet in the SSO forum.
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Michael Rosolina
8" f/10 Orange Tube SCT
4.25" f/4.2 Astroscan Reflector
SVP 3.6" f/13.6 CA Reflector
40mm PST f/10
APM Germany HD 15x70 binoculars
Canon 12x36 IS II binoculars
Mark I Eyeball
My CN Gallery
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