[AZ-Observing] Re: Comet Lulin Thurs. evening

Well, I suppose it's about time to weigh in with my observations ...

After the DFAC meeting Thursday night several of the members came up to
Heimhenge in New River for a look at Lulin.  I had previously set up the 17"
Dob, so it was cooled and ready to go.  The time was about 9:30 pm.  The
comet was up about 40 degrees and just visible naked eye, if you knew
exactly where to look.  The sky in that region was pretty transparent, and
well above the haze lying lower over the Valley.  Here in New River, it's
still pretty dark.  Very few of my neighbors leave lights on at that time,
and it's still possible to get down to 5th magnitude naked eye on a good
night.  The Double Cluster was easily spotted without any aid.

Using a 2-inch 55 mm Plossl (40x) the comet and visible dust tail just about
filled the field of view.  The tail was significantly foreshortened, but
visible arcing away from the coma.  Nucleus was easily seen as a tiny
pinpoint of light.  The only let-down was that, even with this aperture, I
had to convince myself I could see a greenish tint to the object.  Nobody
else could say they "really" saw any greenish tint either.  I know all the
posted photos that clearly show the green of the cyanogen and carbon
components are time exposures, but I was hoping this aperture would do it in
real-time.  Not so.  Still, we all enjoyed the view.

Anybody on this forum with more aperture (and I know there are many) that
can see the greenish tint visually, please report what aperture was
successful.

Dan Heim
President
Desert Foothills Astronomy Club
http://www.dfacaz.org


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gene A Lucas" <geneluca@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "EVACONLINE" <EVAC@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, February 27, 2009 1:45 AM
Subject: [AZ-Observing] Comet Lulin Thurs. evening


> After clouds in the early evening Thursday, it cleared nicely by about
> 10:30 pm, so I tried for the comet.
>  From my front yard here in Fountain Hills, it appeared a bit larger
> than last Monday evening.  Quite easy in 8x40 binoculars, and now close
> to Regulus, having moved from the vicinity of Saturn since the first of
> the week.  I also viewed it in my 5 inch f:5 refractor, and a 6 inch f:5
> reflector.  I could make myself believe I saw a faint tail....  I can
> just see sigma Leonis with averted vision from my front yard, as well as
> the lesser stars in the Little Dipper, signifying a clear night...
> M42 in Orion appeared very nice, but no sign of "The Running Man" (M43).
> Since my neighbors across the street leave lights on under their eaves
> all night, I decided to drive a ways out of town.
> I drove about 15 miles north on the Beeline Highway to the Four Peaks
> Rd. turnoff; leaving the highway, then about 1.5 miles east, past the
> "staging area", to a large clearing on the south side of the well
> maintained, graded dirt road.
> This is a marginally darker site and a bit higher in elevation than my
> home in Fountain Hills -- but one can see the valley lights below
> directly, and the SW quadrant is in the PHX light dome.  There is a
> slight amount of glow on the horizon to the NE, probably from Payson
> (?)  Nice views of the sky all around, with the Four Peaks range on the
> eastern horizon.
> The comet showed a nice tail in the 8x40 binoculars, as well as in the 6
> inch f:5 reflector at low power.  It now shows a slight central
> condensation.
> The tail points away from Regulus, and extends possibly 2-3 degrees (as
> seen in the binoculars).  I could not see the comet without aid, however.
>
> Gene Lucas
> (17250)
>
>
>
> --
> See message header for info on list archives or unsubscribing, and please
> send personal replies to the author, not the list.
>
>


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