Hi
I had a lot of fun observing this morning nice comet
All the story is in the sketching forum
https://www.cloudyni...020-s3-erasmus/
Clear and virus free sky !
Michel
Posted 16 November 2020 - 02:47 AM
Hi
I had a lot of fun observing this morning nice comet
All the story is in the sketching forum
https://www.cloudyni...020-s3-erasmus/
Clear and virus free sky !
Michel
Posted 24 November 2020 - 01:30 PM
I had planned on traveling to the Naylor Observatory this morning to attempt a sighting of Comet C/2020 S3 (Erasmus). All of the weather forecast sites, including the astronomy-based ones, that I consulted had predicted clear skies. When I got up and checked the satellite maps and looked outside, however, all I saw was clouds.
It won't be clear Wednesday and Thursday mornings and the comet will be too low in the eastern sky at dawn to observe very shortly.
https://www.spacewea...map_25nov20.png
https://www.spacewea...map_26nov20.png
Posted 24 November 2020 - 02:48 PM
This comet is far beyond my observing capacities. Looking forward for your photos.
Posted 25 November 2020 - 09:08 AM
Posted 25 November 2020 - 10:17 AM
Will this become a decent evening comet after the turn?
Hi
Alas no,
Carl Hergenrother says :
Erasmus could be between 6th and 7th magnitude before it is lost in the glare of dawn towards the end of the month. Though it will be invisible from the ground, spacecraft such as SOHO may observe the comet starting a few days after its December 12 perihelion at 0.40 au with the comet as bright as 5th magnitude at that time. Unfortunately, ground-based observers will be out of luck till April 2021 when Erasmus should be too faint for visual observation.
Michel
Posted 26 November 2020 - 06:38 PM
Posted 27 November 2020 - 01:56 PM
Great to read these reports. I'm hoping to find and image this comet on Sunday morning, when it's expected to be clear.
I have a beach a couple of miles away with a low horizon towards the southeast, which should be a good vantage point. Leaving home before morning twilight, in search of a low horizon will bring back memories of those exiting mornings observing NEOWISE in July .
Clear skies, all!
Regards, Mike.
Posted 28 November 2020 - 07:22 AM
I couldn't easily make a good magnitude estimate, so I skipped doing it. But I did see the comet in my 130mm reflector and at 59x got to see that it has a narrow but short tail trailing away from the comet. If all goes well, I might be able to keep sight of the comet for another week or so.
Scott
Posted 28 November 2020 - 09:22 AM
Posted 28 November 2020 - 09:33 AM
I couldn't easily make a good magnitude estimate, so I skipped doing it. But I did see the comet in my 130mm reflector and at 59x got to see that it has a narrow but short tail trailing away from the comet. If all goes well, I might be able to keep sight of the comet for another week or so.
Scott
I understand that such an estimation is not a piece of cake
For my opinion, the best paper to understand how to do it and all possible methods is here:
https://skyandtelesc...ets-brightness/
For your information the last estimation in COBS is 6.8.
Here the last magnitude curve:
Michel
Posted 28 November 2020 - 02:23 PM
Unfortunately, my one clear morning (Sunday) is now expected to have high cloud, mist and visibility rated as "poor". Hardly ideal for a comet around magnitude 7 and right on the horizon at the end of astronomical twilight!
Good luck to all those attempting observations.
Regards, Mike.
Posted 28 November 2020 - 04:29 PM
I am pretty sure that I saw it through my 20 X 80 binoculars right before the sky got too bright. I spotted a more blurry object in contrast to other stars in the area.
Posted 29 November 2020 - 09:36 AM
Posted 01 December 2020 - 07:27 AM
Saw the comet again. Yikes, that thing is dropping toward the horizon. I might not see it anymore after a week unless I haul my telescope to a tree-less horizon.
Scott
Posted 05 December 2020 - 07:55 AM
Okay, so I saw the comet again this morning. It was right at the start of nautical twilight. But due to its brightness and how far into the brighter sky it is, I could only see it in my 130mm reflector. It appeared a little dimmer than the +6.4 star nearby. A tough observation for me for sure considering I had to set up in my cow pasture to (just!) get my best horizon.
Scot
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