[AZ-Observing] Comet Holmes and new site near Saddle Mountain

  • From: "Steve Coe" <stevecoe@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2007 00:58:58 -0700

Howdy all;
 

Well, Comet Holmes is defiantly fading.  It is just naked eye with direct
vision from a site with Milky Way and 6th magnitude stars.  It may brighten
up again, it has done that in the past.  We shall see.  It certainly was fun
to see it with binoculars and the ED 80 right among the stars of Mel 20 in
Perseus, how many times have you seen a comet among a big, bright open
cluster?

 

I also have a candidate for a western site that is closer than the Antennas
site at Hovatter Road.  It is also near Saddle Mountain, but without the car
lights ever time a truck is on its way to home.

 

Use the same path as before:  I-10 to Wintersburg Road and then about 10
miles south to the "T" at Elliot Road, turn right (west) onto Elliot.  Be
careful of the dip and cattle guard.  After a few miles traveling on the
blacktop, the road turns sharply right and becomes a dirt road.  Keep going
straight, do not make that sharp right turn, and be careful of two dips in
the road.  As you come out of the second dip there is a 45 degree turn to
the right.  So you turn away from the line of power poles onto a smooth dirt
road.  This happens about 0.3 miles from the pavement.  Continue on this
road for 0.6 miles and there is an opening in the birm on the left that I
marked with rocks.  It has room for lots of observers.

 

N 33 21.147  W 112 59.756  is where I set up.  Thanks AJ, for letting be
borrow the GPS receiver. 

 

Good news, no lights or dust from passing trucks.  Bad news, the second dip
is quite severe and I doubt that anyone towing a trailer would get through
it.  I will encourage anyone to drive to the site without the trailer and
see if you wish to try it first.  Other small bad news, there are some
distant lights from the transformer station.  They are noticeable, but kinda
blend in with Phoenix.

 

All we can do is try, maybe put it on the list for a third quarter star
party in the future.

 

Clear Skies;

Steve Coe


--
See message header for info on list archives or unsubscribing, and please 
send personal replies to the author, not the list.

Other related posts:

  • » [AZ-Observing] Comet Holmes and new site near Saddle Mountain