[AZ-Observing] Comet Holmes and Zorro
- From: "L Knauth" <Knauth@xxxxxxx>
- To: <az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 12 Jan 2008 20:12:32 -0700
I had a terrific observing run at Hovatter Norte last Wednesday and Thursday
nights. Thursday night was near perfect transparency and very good seeing.
Comet Holmes is still nice as a naked eye object. It is the second brightest
corner of an irregular triangle with M31 and M33. It sits next to Algol, like a
smudge on the Medusa's forehead. Comet 8P/Tuttle is a bright blob in the
telescope, and doesn't have any tail that I could see in the 25". It does have
a starlike point right at the center. Other than being tinted green, it isn't
so spectacular as comets go.
As Steve Coe noted recently, the zodiacal light is incredible this time of
year. Once the Moon set, I could see the shadow of my hand on the side of the
trailer. It extends up almost vertically, and the band forms an "X" with the
Milky Way with bright red Mars nearby. Beautiful.
In any observing run, you are always left with a few things that strike you the
most. Inasmuch as this is only about the 6th installment of my re-survey of the
universe using my new 25" Obsession, there are more than a few mind-boggling,
mystical sights rummaging around in the old memory today. Seeing Hind's
variable nebula glowing away in direct vision near T Tauri was a treat. I
don't think I ever saw it for sure in my 12.5". But the real gasser for me was
NGC 1365 when it crossed the meridian. This was always a wonderful object in
the 12.5" because you could see the bar shape and stoke up the power to see the
double nucleus. With the 25", there is the whole crazy "Z" shaped galaxy
filling the eyepiece field. Like one of the famous photos! The Zorro galaxy.
Paul Knauth
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