djeber2
sage
Reged: 07/02/04
Posts: 493
Loc: Ohio
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Viewed the comet briefly in the 15x70 binoculars tonight. Rather easy to see despite the nearly full moon. I just hope it is clear in a week when the moon will be out of the way.
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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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Carol L
Reged: 07/05/04
Posts: 5880
Loc: Tomahawk, WI 45N//89W
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Saw Machholz with my 11x70s from the kitchen window after dinner on Christmas. Very noticeable even through the moonglow. 
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Dave Mitsky
Postmaster
Reged: 04/08/02
Posts: 6301
Loc: Pennsylvania, USA
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I had a look at Comet Machholz Q2 again on Christmas Eve with my Celestron 8x42's and Orion ShortTube 80 achromat at 13 and 40x. Only the large coma was visible.
Dave Mitsky
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Chance favors the prepared mind.
De gustibus non est disputandum.
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Memo
professor emeritus
Reged: 11/05/04
Posts: 529
Loc: Bogotá, Colombia
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I saw it last night, but the moonglow was really bright. I still can't recognize any tail. Any of you did?
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Guillermo Castaño (SIRIO)
Orion XT8i / Intelliscope
Bushnell 10x50
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David Knisely
Postmaster
Reged: 04/19/04
Posts: 6787
Loc: Beatrice, Nebraska
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Quote:
I saw it last night, but the moonglow was really bright. I still can't recognize any tail. Any of you did?
The tail is not visible with the moon in the sky. Nearly two weeks ago, a *faint* ion tail was visble with big binoculars or richest-field telescopes, but it was less than two degrees long and was quite narrow. At that time, I could see a little of the short dust tail in my 4 inch f/6 refractor, but it was no more than a diffuse brightening outward from one side of the coma. Christmas night, all I could see in binoculars was the coma and brighter middle, although it was pretty easy to see. We aren't likely to see much more than this, as the comet's tail is pointing almost directly away from us right now. Perhaps later in January when the angle gets better, we might see a little more tail, but this comet is outside the Earth's orbit, so I am not expecting too much. Clear skies to you.
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David W. Knisely
Hyde Memorial Observatory
http://www.hydeobservatory.info
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matt
Vendor (Scopemania)
Reged: 07/28/03
Posts: 10022
Loc: Chaville, France
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It seemed to me that a north-pointing tail was quite visible this night (at least as visible as could be given the moon); and at high power there was a "fan" spanning about 5' wide going from due south to east-south-east spreading from the nucleus. In binoculars the whole thing seemed about as bright as the Orion Nebula.
I hope tomorrow the skies clear before the moon shows up.
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Matt
CI700 mount with various scopes on top.
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Jeremy Perez
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/12/04
Posts: 1677
Loc: Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
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Tonight, the clouds parted for a while, and the moon had yet to rise, so I took a look for Machholz at 10:30 pm. As the days go by, it keeps getting brighter. I'm still not sure how to go about estimating brightness for fuzzy things like this. But I could make out the thin ion tail with averted vision to the east-northeast, and what seemed to be a widening of the coma that I guess would be the dust tail the south. I worked out a digital sketch over the course of 3 trips outside. I wasn't dressed for the occasion, so I didn't want to get everything put together for a pencil sketch. But, for what it's worth, I took the time to estimate angular positions between the major stars and the comet, as well as relative distances and the size of the coma and length of the tails, and then worked up the sketch in Photoshop.
Sketch (23K)
After putting the sketch together, I checked in Orion's The Sky. I did need to make a slight adjustment to the position of 2 stars on the east side of the sketch. The position of Machholz worked out to RA 3h 53m / Dec +07° 21'. I labeled the major stars that surrounded it in the sketch. Based on the angular separation of those stars, I would estimate the portion of the coma visible to me was 19' in diameter, while the ion tail extended 50'. Under direct vision I still pick up the faintest hint of green. I haven't found any recent photos of the comet to verify that I'm seeing what I think I'm seeing, so if somebody notices something fishy about the drawing, let me know.
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moynihan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/22/03
Posts: 1517
Loc: Wisconsin
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Quote:
Under direct vision I still pick up the faintest hint of green.
Very nice rendition, similar to what i saw last night (except to me the coma had a very tight area of brightness in the center) during a short period of clear sky. A number of folks on the comet mailing lists are reporting seeing a green tinge also. I myself have not seen it yet in this comet, but i do not think you are imagining it.
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"Gosh, you've... really got some nice toys here"
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entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem
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matt
Vendor (Scopemania)
Reged: 07/28/03
Posts: 10022
Loc: Chaville, France
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Saw it again tonight before the moon came up and I had to make some new-year's eve-style stuff. In the 16" it is really green; two tails, very wide apart and a lot like the "snowy owl" image. The "disappointing" part is that I did not see any detail except for the nucleus; the tails do not have a clear-cut edge, even on the "front" side. The nucleus is not stellar, more like 3-5" I guess.
As for magnitude, this thing looks brighter than the core of M31.
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Matt
CI700 mount with various scopes on top.
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20/20
super member
Reged: 09/14/04
Posts: 167
Loc: Michigan
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I just saw it for the first time with my 5" mak. I saw no tail, but it was very bright.
It reminded me of a bright elliptical galaxy.
Does anybody know if it's going to get brighter?
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etx-125
What, were you expecting more?
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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Here's a photo I took last night (31 Dec) from Flackwell Heath, Bucks, UK. I used an MX5-C CCD with a 50 mm f.l. camera lens at f/2 -- 3 min exposure. The field is about 5º wide and the faintest stars are about mag 13. The fan-shaped tail is starting to show up now that the Moon is out of the way, and the cyan colour is very strong on the image (though not to me visually) -- I even had to reduce the colour saturation to a minimum. Oddly, it only shows up pale yellow using the Canon 10D.
Ignore any apparent detail in the coma -- I'm sure it is an artefact of the image processing.
Happy New Year to all,
Robin
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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 3545
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Good observation, Jeremy. Your sketch matches well with the image posted by Robin.
How do you like digital sketching as compared to paper/pencil?
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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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moynihan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/22/03
Posts: 1517
Loc: Wisconsin
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Quote:
Ignore any apparent detail in the coma -- I'm sure it is an artefact of the image processing.
Not necessarily. The two small outbursts,(i believe they are called "jets") for instance, are showing up in other photos also, and for some visual observers.
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"Gosh, you've... really got some nice toys here"
Dual mount/ambient temperature Hominid Widefield Photon Collectors®
Pleistocene™ ½ watt Wetware Integration Unit.
entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem
Edited by moynihan (01/01/05 05:07 PM)
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Jeremy Perez
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/12/04
Posts: 1677
Loc: Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
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Robin, thanks a ton for posting that image. I'm inspired to see if I can grab some shots tonight if the clouds cooperate for a few minutes.
Michael, if there was some way I could do nebulosity digitally at the eyepiece, I think I would do it every time. It would be nice to have every opportunity to make corrections and get really subtle blends. If I had a laptop, and a way to keep my night vision intact, I'd be all over it.
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Carol L
Reged: 07/05/04
Posts: 5880
Loc: Tomahawk, WI 45N//89W
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Last night was my first chance to see the comet using anything other than my 11x70 binos. Prior to moonrise there was a shocking 20 minute break in the clouds so I grabbed my 90mm ETX and flew out the door. 
Machholz gave off a beautiful naked-eye glow and looked softly diffuse at 39x and 48x. No color was seen, and neither of the tails were detected. Think I'll need to use the 8"SCT to see them?
Also, there was a star just above the comet's glowing core. The two points of light looked like a double star with one out of focus... it was kind of neat to split a comet.
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moynihan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 07/22/03
Posts: 1517
Loc: Wisconsin
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Quote:
and neither of the tails were detected. Think I'll need to use the 8"SCT to see them?
Seeing the tails depends on how dark the sky is, the angle of the comet to the sun, and what it is doing so to speak, when you are looking. I am seeing tails with 80mm, and last night, at 10x50. They are not "stand-out" features, at least as of yet. Treat it like a DSO. Use averted vision if necessary. Your 22x100 binos should be perfect for the comet.
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"Gosh, you've... really got some nice toys here"
Dual mount/ambient temperature Hominid Widefield Photon Collectors®
Pleistocene™ ½ watt Wetware Integration Unit.
entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem
Edited by moynihan (01/01/05 11:12 PM)
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Jeremy Perez
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 08/12/04
Posts: 1677
Loc: Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
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Tonight I got outside with 10 X 50 binoculars, and noticed Machholz was starting to show a longer dust tail. During sporadic breaks in the passing clouds I grabbed enough piggybacked shots to stack an image together.
Link to Machholz image
The bright, bluish star at upper left of the shot is Lambda Tauri. You can see the ion tail reaching east-northeast, right up to that star...which would put its length in the image at about 3.2 degrees. It looks like there are 2 or 3 streamers in the tail closest to the comet.
The dust tail is pointing south-southwest and looks to be a little less than a third that length--so maybe about a degree long. That tail definitely showed up as a longer streak in the binoculars than a couple nights ago when it looked more like an elongation of the coma.
The police paid a visit. That was interesting. I'm thinking about making an "Astronomer At Large" sign to jab in the lawn whenever I'm out. Hrmm.
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Stargazer2
super member
Reged: 10/11/04
Posts: 172
Loc: Silverton, Oregon
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Hey I think I saw it! Thanks! First clear night in months but I had to use my 12x50s cause I couldn't get up the gumption to dedicate myself to sub-freezing weather (yeah I know, I need to weatherize myself) with my scopes. Kinda looks like a faint fuzzy with my binos but I'm sure that's what I saw.
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Dale
Hardin 10" DSH in Beautiful Black
Swift 7x50
Meade 12x50
Celestron 15x70
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Carol L
Reged: 07/05/04
Posts: 5880
Loc: Tomahawk, WI 45N//89W
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It was actually clear long enough for me to set up the SCT and get some piggyback shots of Machholz. The tails show up pretty well on the images despite the degrading transparency.
Here's a crop of the best shot [notes are in the photo description]:
http://www.cloudynights.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=2233
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Stargazer2
super member
Reged: 10/11/04
Posts: 172
Loc: Silverton, Oregon
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Hey, nice photo.
I was able to see Machholz tonight naked eye. I think I'll try to brave the weather tonight and set my 10" up.
Clear skies, Whoo Hoo! Brrrrrrr!
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Dale
Hardin 10" DSH in Beautiful Black
Swift 7x50
Meade 12x50
Celestron 15x70
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