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Special Ed
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/03
Posts: 3531
Loc: Greenbrier Co., WV 38N, 80W
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Re: Comet Boattini Observation
07/16/08 07:54 AM Attachment (9 downloads)
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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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