djeber2
sage
Reged: 07/02/04
Posts: 480
Loc: Ohio
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I observed Machholz tonight in both the 15x70 binoculars and 10" dob from my mag 4+ back yard. Able to see it despite the moon and nearby street lights. This should be a great comet as it brightens. 
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Don
1 Dob: Hardin DSH10
4 Small scopes: Celestron ED80, Meade 114NT/500 4.5", Orion 102 Mak, Orion 100mm Astroview
2 Classic Scopes: 4.25" Edmunds reflector, Sears 60mm Discovery
4 Binoculars: 15x70 Celestron skymaster, 10x42 Celestron Regal, 8x40 Nikon Action, 10x50 Orion Binoculars
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Cerberus
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 10/16/04
Posts: 2689
Loc: Newton, KS 67114
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Nice job, I still haven't caught her yet!
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Nathan
sage
Reged: 10/10/04
Posts: 205
Loc: Southern ohio
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djeber2...Thats cool that you found machholz. I tried to find it last night but couldn't  I live in town and I think it was too low on the horizon. This weather has been just pathetic here (I'm in Greenfield)!!! Has it been any better in Dayton? I have a 4.5", any hope that I will be able to find it? Can you see a tail yet or will it just resemble a star? Congrats!
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8" Deep Space Hunter
Canon A95 w/ Scopetronix Digi-T adapter
Canon Digital Rebel XT
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PorscheG96
member
Reged: 10/29/04
Posts: 18
Loc: $F Bay Area
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I think I saw it tonight...at least it was in the right place. It looks like a mag 5 or 6 globular cluster at 90x in my 8" dob. Of course it was right above a street light, but very cool!
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djeber2
sage
Reged: 07/02/04
Posts: 480
Loc: Ohio
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Nathan, someone in our astronomy club with a 4.5" was able to see it, but he lives outside town in darker skies. I observed it again at 10:30pm est after the skies cleared up, this time with 15x70 binoculars only. It is already mag 6 and brightening, and should be an easy target in any size scope, depending on weather and local seeing conditions. The comet is moving north as it brightens, and will be very well palced for observing it later this month and January.
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Don
1 Dob: Hardin DSH10
4 Small scopes: Celestron ED80, Meade 114NT/500 4.5", Orion 102 Mak, Orion 100mm Astroview
2 Classic Scopes: 4.25" Edmunds reflector, Sears 60mm Discovery
4 Binoculars: 15x70 Celestron skymaster, 10x42 Celestron Regal, 8x40 Nikon Action, 10x50 Orion Binoculars
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djeber2
sage
Reged: 07/02/04
Posts: 480
Loc: Ohio
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Also, no hint of a tial visible to me from my location yet. As PorscheG96 describes it looks like a large globular cluster now. As this comet moves north and brightens it should be a great comet.
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Don
1 Dob: Hardin DSH10
4 Small scopes: Celestron ED80, Meade 114NT/500 4.5", Orion 102 Mak, Orion 100mm Astroview
2 Classic Scopes: 4.25" Edmunds reflector, Sears 60mm Discovery
4 Binoculars: 15x70 Celestron skymaster, 10x42 Celestron Regal, 8x40 Nikon Action, 10x50 Orion Binoculars
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Yaquina
sage
Reged: 09/07/04
Posts: 358
Loc: Newport, OR
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Great job, I have not seen it yet, not have I tried, but am looking forward to it in the next month.
Thanks for the report, Mike
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Orion ED80
Orion XT10 Classic (many mods)
8x50 Nikon binoculars
14"-18" Dob in my future!(
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Dave Mitsky
Postmaster
Reged: 04/08/02
Posts: 5538
Loc: Pennsylvania, USA
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I had a look at C/2004 Q2 from the ASH Naylor Observatory on Friday night prior to moonrise using a 5" f/5 achromat at magnifications up to 63x and a 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain at 162, 202, 259, and 381x. At 381x the pseudonucleus was bright and quite prominent and the coma had a rather peculiar, irregular shape. A hint of a tail could be seen.
Dave Mitsky
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Chance favors the prepared mind.
De gustibus non est disputandum.
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EdZ
Professor EdZ
Reged: 02/15/02
Posts: 12091
Loc: Cumberland, R I , USA42N71.4W
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I found it tonight while scanning low in the trees with my 10x50 binoculars. It stood out rather easily, considering I was only using 10x50s. I will need to wait a week or two to put a scope on this from my house. It's going to be in the trees at least for another week.
edz
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Teach a kid something today. The feeling you'll get is one of life's greatest rewards.
member#21
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Tonk
Post Laureate
Reged: 08/19/04
Posts: 3390
Loc: Leeds, UK, 54N
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I think on the evidence of the nice coma size and independent
reports of a 1 degree tail we might see something of a comet over
the next 8 - 10 weeks. Max mag is predicted as 4.1. The orbital
configuration is such that we will unfortunately largly see the tail
greatly foreshortened as the comet is tracking alongside the earth
outside the earths orbit moving from below our orbital plane to
above (before eventually dipping below again in Apr 2025). The comet
sun earth angle remains small during this peroid so the tail is
largely going to be directed away from earth. The earth is swinging
towards the comet, overtakes it and then moves away from the comet
around March 2005 so for 8 - 10 weeks we keep roughly the same sort
of distance from it giving us plenty of closeup observing time.
Min distance from sun: 1.2 AU Jan 24/25
Min distance from earth: 0.35 AU Jan 6
If you want to play with an interactive orbit simulator - go here ( comet orbit simulator ) and type "C/2004 Q2" into the comet selection box, hit "Search" - you will get the name "machholz" replacing the designation. Now hit "show orbit" and the new page allows you to move the view point, change scale and run the simulator forwards and backwards in time. Cool 
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Televue 85, GM-8/Gemini, Canon 10D
Coronado SM60/BF10, Baader Herschel Wedge
Leeds Sky Clock
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 3433
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Hi Tonk,
Thanks for the simulation link--it's great! For those of you in the higher latitudes--hold on while the comet gains altitude--it's easy to find and looks good. 
Nice pic you made, btw.
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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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rainmaker
professor emeritus
Reged: 09/17/04
Posts: 736
Loc: possum poop holler
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I caught Macholz last night. It was around midnight. It was nice in my 80mm richfield refractor. It was quite large and bright. The nucleus was large but I could see no tail. Maybe the tail will become visible later. But with comets who knows?
Roger
Nerd Of The Night
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Blues
sage
Reged: 10/18/04
Posts: 288
Loc: NC
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It was a very nice sight in my 10x50's this evening.
I'll have to give it a whirl in the XT8 next time around.
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Elliott
Orion XT8 Classic
Orion Vista 10x50
Live Free Or Die
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djeber2
sage
Reged: 07/02/04
Posts: 480
Loc: Ohio
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I was able to observe the comet the last 4 nights, twice with the 10" and all four nights with the 15x70 binoc. It was clear two nights, and partly cloudy two nights. The night I had the 90mm refractor out it was too cloudy in that part of the sky to see, and I did not see it until I put the scope away and got the binoc out later. I would have to say that the bonoc probably gave a better view of the comet than the 10".
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Don
1 Dob: Hardin DSH10
4 Small scopes: Celestron ED80, Meade 114NT/500 4.5", Orion 102 Mak, Orion 100mm Astroview
2 Classic Scopes: 4.25" Edmunds reflector, Sears 60mm Discovery
4 Binoculars: 15x70 Celestron skymaster, 10x42 Celestron Regal, 8x40 Nikon Action, 10x50 Orion Binoculars
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Observed the comet from Death Valley, CA with homemade 12.5" binocular newtonian (AKA "reverse binocular") at 70x on Dec 4 11:30 PM PST. A one in a hundred night, transparency and seeing excellent. ZLM 6.9.
This comet is a lovely object. Estimated magnitude 5.5, easily seen naked eye, large coma (15-20 arcminutes) and psuedo nucleus (1-2 arcminutes), strongly condensed, two tails at nearly 90 degrees to each other, ion tail straight, narrow band trending northward seen 1.3 degrees in extent, dust tail broader, fan shaped very faint, 45 arcminutes extent. The 90 degree spread between the tails is reminiscent of Comet West. Neither tail seen in 7x50 binoculars or 80mm f/5 refractor.
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Wolverine
super member
Reged: 12/05/04
Posts: 105
Loc: Austin, TX USA
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Sweet! Nice report, seeing, and gear (definitely not in that order).
Would it be possible to post a pic of your binonewt?
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Wolverine's Den
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 3433
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Thanks for the detailed report, Dan and welcome to Cloudy Nights.
Your observation of the ion and dust tails at a 90 degree angle confirms an observation made by Mike Begbie on 30 Nov. from Zimbabwe. His sketch is posted in a Yahoo group--I'll try to post a link but non-members may have to sign in.
I felt like the coma was larger than the 3' from older reports I had read but transparency here has made it hard to nail down.
Looking forward to more from you.
[Edit] here's the link to Mike Begbie's sketch (non-members will probably have to sign up before they can login).
http://tinyurl.com/6lkvw
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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 (12/07/04 08:06 AM)
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HoundDog
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 04/01/04
Posts: 1586
Loc: Greenwell Springs, La.
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I saw it for the first time tonight. I star hopped from the middle star of Orion's belt straight through Rigel over to 54 Eridani in Eridanus. It was just a bit to the right and slightly above this star. I could just barely make it out in my finderscope which helped out a lot. I saw a hazy circular area with a bright core...no tail to speak of could be seen. Very nice indeed.
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Ernest
Discovery DHQ 8" F7 Dob
GSO 30 Superview
TV 24 Panoptic
GSO 20 Superview
TV 13T6 Nagler
TV 15 Plossl
TV 11 Plossl
Burgess/TMB 9 Planetary
Celestron Ultima Barlow
Catseye Cheshire and Autocollimator
Tectron Sight Tube
And two worthless cats!
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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I observed comet Machholz tonight for the first time in my 10x50 binoculars. It had the look of a globular star cluster, as I could not make out any evidence of a tail. Excellent sky conditions made it an easy target.
I could only observe for a few minutes, the -4 degree wind chill had me running inside to warm up in a hurry!
Bill in WI
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Bill Grass
Prince Regent
Reged: 10/07/03
Posts: 11648
Loc: Denham Springs, LA
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I've got to get outside & see this comet! 4 clear nights in a row here & I still haven't looked for Machholz. 
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