[AZ-Observing] Saturday Night Comet Fever

Several members of the Coconino Astronomical Society gathered at the Doney 
Mountain Picnic Area, last night. Myself, Zach and Peter Schierl, and Kris 
Naylor made the trip. Comet NEAT continues to put on an impressive display, 
having 
taken the show on the road from Cancer to Lynx. It's still a naked eye object, 
though dimmer and competing with a waxing Moon. Comet LINEAR escaped 
detection. We hiked about a 100-meters down a trail to a slightly elevated site 
with a 
clear view of the southwest horizon. By the time Sirius set--about 
8:05pm--the sky was still quite bright and LINEAR well below the horizon. After 
the end 
of astronomical twilight, I returned to this location to scan the horizon for 
LINEAR's tail but was skunked. In another two or three days, LINEAR should 
have moved far enough north that it will be 10º above the horizon at 8:30pm. 
But 
there will be a 1st quarter Moon to contend with. I'm not holding my breath on 
this one.
Later, I observed a couple of galaxies in Virgo, NGC 4526 and NGC 4535. The 
sketches and notes should be up on my website in a day or so. Zach Schierl used 
his 10-inch Orion Dobsonian to locate Ceres. Kris Naylor observed several 
fine Messier globulars with her 8-inch Newtonian.

The wind, which had been blustery most of the afternoon, calmed quite a bit 
after sunset and that made for very comfortable conditions. I was the last to 
leave, packing up and heading out at midnight.

Regards,

Bill in Flagstaff

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