17 replies to this topic

[zawijava]

Is anyone doing any dedicated Comet hunting with binoculars nowadays or has that become a lost art amidst all the ccd technology? I'm curious about Comet Hunters' search techniques but can't seem to find much from the binocular perspective.

thanks, Tim

[zawijava]

I did come across this from Don Machholz' Comet Comments:

"COMET HUNTING NOTES FROM JAN. 1998: Of the last 100 visual comet
discoveries, 28 were made by amateurs using binoculars. The smallest
pair of binoculars used was 7x35's by William Bradfield in 1980 to find
a magnitude-six comet. Three were the 80mm size while six finds were
made using binoculars with objectives of 110-120 mm. Four finds were
made with my homemade binoculars (130mm). And half (14) of all binocular
comet discoveries were made with 150mm (6-inch) binoculars."

[Man in a Tub]

I can't give you the actual books or articles, but your best bet for technique, though not binocular-based, is David Levy. I think... I could be wrong. I had to return a book by him to the library before I could finish it.

[hallelujah]

http://www.cloudynig...sb/7/o/all/vc/1

http://www.aerith.ne...t/future-n.html

[edwincjones]

the technique is fairly simple:

learn the sky well,
pan back and forth looking for something not suppose to be there
check for known objects after finding
report

edj

[zawijava]

thanks for those links, especially the second one.....I can see the advantage, both as pure enjoyment as well as skill building, to search and locate "already found" comets. Having been at this hobby for a lifetime telescopically, I know the northern hemisphere sky very well but have spent little time searching and viewing comets(except those very apparent ones of the past decade). Embarking on a new quest(comet search) with new/different equipment(20X110 binos) will keep me going in this hobby. I must confess, at age 54 and living in a cold Winter climate, it gets harder and harder to pull myself away from "online Astronomy" to bundle up and get outdoors looking up. I am indeed enjoying the GO 20X110's...a breath of fresh air

Tim

[hallelujah]

I must confess, at age 54 and living in a cold Winter climate, it gets harder and harder to pull myself away from "online Astronomy" to bundle up and get outdoors looking up.

Tim

Yes, but once I finally get outside it's even harder to return indoors, especially when the weather is not too harsh and the skies are clear. Sometimes I think that my body enjoys ' dozing off ' under the stars.

[Mr. Bill]

the technique is fairly simple:

learn the sky well,
pan back and forth looking for something not suppose to be there
check for known objects after finding
report

edj

Well, I've made it to step three several times, but never step four.

[Man in a Tub]

The July 1996 issue of Sky & Telescope featured articles about Comet Hyakutake. Among those articles was "How Yuji Hyakutake Found His Comet" on page 27. Your question made me remember him. Unfortunately, he died of a heart aneurysm on April 10, 2002 at age 51. I have never forgotten this photo of him.

Photo Credit: © 1996 Tenmon Guide, by Akira Otawara

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[zawijava]

Interesting that you post this, as I to had recently re-read these S&T articles. His story certainly reinforces the old adage " never put off till tomorrow what you can do today".

Tim

[Mr. Bill]

That picture (and his discovery) were the main motivating factors for the purchase of my 25x150 Fujinon back in 2002.

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[Scanning4Comets]

That pic of you with your Fuji's is always a treat Mr. Bill. I remember seeing Hyakutake and Hale Bopp in their glory. At the time I had an older pair of rebadged 11x80's for both comets and also seen the inner hood structure in Hale Bopp through a 12 inch reflector.

I'm looking forward to hopefully seeing another comet soon in my 25x100's !!! Are there any comets visible right now? Are there going to be any bright ones soon?

Thanks for this inspiring post!

[hallelujah]

Are there any comets visible right now? Are there going to be any bright ones soon?

http://transientsky....h-january-2009/ Scroll down to Comets.

http://www.aerith.ne...7N3/2007N3.html

http://www.amication...w3_20090108.htm

[edwincjones]

comet lulin is out in the SE in the AM, around mag 7-8 now and should get to mag 4-5 in the next few months.
I have not seen it yet

edj

[Mr. Bill]

Some more links....

http://tech.groups.y...roup/comets-ml/

http://tech.groups.y.../Comet_Hunters/

http://tech.groups.y...p/Comet-Images/

I've found these to be useful.

[hallelujah]

http://spaceweather.com/

http://spaceweather...._1231513314.jpg

[Mark9473]

I'm surprised this link hasn't come up yet:
http://www.cometchas....com/index.html

[Special Ed]

This thread on C/2007 N3 (Lulin) is going in the Planetary and Solar System Observing forum. It includes several observations of Comet Lulin beginning in late December utilizing 10x50, 12x36 IS 15x50 IS, and 15x70 binoculars. The comet appears to be brightening fairly rapidly and will become even easier to spot as it rises earlier and gains altitude over the coming weeks. Of course, right now it is competing with the lovely Luna.