Comet NEOWISE

[Liquor and Poker 3659]

On 7/18/2020 at 11:08 PM, Mole said:

I live in the sticks. I was able to see it by looking a bit to the side of where it is. Once I focused my eyes on it, gone. Saw some nice meteor showers as well

Yeah where I was had relatively little light pollution.  You could see the Milky Way. And I could only see the comet looking at it a bit sideways too. Looked kinda like a very faint bug mark on a windshield 

[Brisketexan 105123]

10 hours ago, Brisketexan said:

Took a road trip tonight with the family to see it (WTF else are we gonna do with our time?)
Stopped at Storm’s in Burnet for a burger and some tots. Then headed a few miles up 281 towards Lampasas. Turned west on CR 103, drove several miles more into the darkness, found a good spot to pull over, and waited.
It wasn’t really visible till around 9:20. Then from around 9:30-9:45, it peaked, and it was really fucking cool. You could see it with eve naked eye, but binoculars made it significantly better. No good camera, so we just grabbed memories. But it was pretty damned awesome. Out there in the dark and quiet, looking at something we won’t see again for close to 7,000 years...that’s just cool.
Seriously, if you’re in Austin, I recommend the spot. We looked at a dark skies map, and it’s about the closest spot with really dark sky, just over an hour away.

Also, I failed to inform y'all of the boy's order at Storm's: The Storm special (a quadruple patty burger), fries, an extra side of okra, a root beer....and a fried pie.  And he actually thought of being hungry on the way home, too.

Edited July 20, 2020 by Brisketexan

[UT_OB1 2220]

Have any of you tried looking at it with an entry level telescope?  Any better?

Edited July 20, 2020 by UT_OB1

[Paper_jam 831]

I have a smallish (102 mm)  GOTO motorized telescope that's been sitting idle for a couple of years and tried to get it going last night, but the electronics and motor drive seem to be dead. How does something made with solid state electronics, that was working when you put it away, just up and die?

But that being said, from looking at Hale-Bopp in '97, I found that a telescope (at least a small one) didn't add much over good binocs. It made a small fuzzy ball into a larger fuzzy ball.

 

 

[Paper_jam 831]

Thinking about Hale-Bopp reminded me of something else--back then, I went up on Mount Bonnell to see it, and even though it's still in the city, just getting above the predominant city lights helped. So if you live near there and don't want to drive far out into the country, that might be an option that's better than the average back yard. But that was 20+ years ago.

 

 

Edited July 20, 2020 by Paper_jam

[ztejas 43420]

3 minutes ago, Paper_jam said:

Thinking about Hale-Bopp reminded me of something else--back then, I went up on Mount Bonnell to see it, and even though it's still in the city, just getting above the predominant city lights helped. So if you live near there and don't want to drive far out into the country, that might be an option that's better than the average back yard. But that was 20+ years ago.

 

 

Unfortunately it's closed right now. And unlike some other parks I would guess they have a cop there or at least someone doing rounds.

[DougO 5245]

I saw the thing last night and the night before. Lower power binoculars are what i recommend for finding and viewing, like 7x or 8x at best. You need a bit of a wide view to pick it out. Couldn't really make it out with the naked eye out here, even in smallish town looking in the direction of the least ambient city light, still too "milky" to see dim stars very well.

I attempted pics both nights and at least documented it, but nothing I am proud to show. Never done that type of photography before. Too long of an exposure and you get too much movement blur from the stars shifting. I had started figuring it out much better last night, but as soon as I got going some thickass cloud cover came along and buried it.

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

I was only able to get a pic with my iPhone extended exposure a couple of nights ago here in my neighborhood in Sugar Land. Fairly sure that the light smudge I captured was it but I couldn't see it on the binoculars to really be sure. Just way too light. 

 

[BottleRocket 644]

So just look for the yellow looking thing that’s shaped like an Indian arrow?

I’ll be out in Leaky, TX this weekend and hopefully will be prime viewing.

[Armybrat 40839]

3 hours ago, Paper_jam said:

I have a smallish (102 mm)  GOTO motorized telescope that's been sitting idle for a couple of years and tried to get it going last night, but the electronics and motor drive seem to be dead. How does something made with solid state electronics, that was working when you put it away, just up and die?

But that being said, from looking at Hale-Bopp in '97, I found that a telescope (at least a small one) didn't add much over good binocs. It made a small fuzzy ball into a larger fuzzy ball.

 

 

My first scope was a 60mm GOTO altazimuth - bought new in 1958 for about $50 IIRC. That was at the beginning of the space race craze that boosted interest in amateur astronomy.

My last scope was a 60mm Unitron motorized equatorial refractor. Bought it new in 1962 for $125. It is now owned by one of my sons.

 

[Liquor and Poker 3659]

Maybe it's my own fault like most things, but these "Next week is your chance to see the amazing [INSERT ASTRONOMICAL EVENT]!!!!!!!!!!!" are pretty much guaranteed to be disappointing.  

Halley's Comet, Red Moon this and that, meteor showers, even the 2 or 3 solar eclipses - all kinda "huh" rather than "wow."

[Hate 20108]

Hale-Bopp in 97 was pretty damn cool. We were camping out near Rocksprings and it was easily viewable with binoculars. It took an hour or so to make its way past a hill near where we were camping so we got to see it for a good while. This one has not lived up to the hype yet, but I haven’t taken any other measures to see it other than looking from my house.

[RPM 26320]

15 hours ago, Armybrat said:

My last scope was a 60mm Unitron motorized equatorial refractor.

Is that thing turbocharged?

[pantone159 719]

15 hours ago, crimsonlonghorn said:

I was only able to get a pic with my iPhone extended exposure a couple of nights ago here in my neighborhood in Sugar Land. Fairly sure that the light smudge I captured was it but I couldn't see it on the binoculars to really be sure. Just way too light. 

 

Nice finding photo. I saw it from Austin last night (in Barton Hills) about 9:45 or so. (9:30-10:00 pm was when it was visible.) I did need binoculars to find it.

Steps to locate the comet: 1) Find the Big Dipper as in this photo. 2) Trace from where the ladle reaches the cup (the uppermost star in the 4-star cup of the dipper), diagonal across the cup (to the lowest star here), then go about twice as far. Then you have to scan with binocs to find it. In this photo, there are two stars in a line (below the dipper) that sort of point at the comet, I ended up using these to help me keep track of it.

Be aware that the position of the comet relative to the Dipper will change over the next week a bit. The comet will be gradually moving left and up, from our evening perspective.

 

[pantone159 719]

46 minutes ago, Liquor and Poker said:

even the 2 or 3 solar eclipses - all kinda "huh" rather than "wow."

You only saw a partial solar eclipse, not a total one, or you would not say "huh".

 

[Liquor and Poker 3659]

2 hours ago, pantone159 said:

You only saw a partial solar eclipse, not a total one, or you would not say "huh".

 

Well, you can't even look right at it, but I think the one I saw when I was in Mexico in 1991 was total.
But leave that out if you want.  Every few months there's some "once in a lifetime!" or "every [BIG NUMBER] years!" event that, at best, is not something you would even notice if you hadn't been looking for it.

[Pato del Muerto 52493]

10 minutes ago, Liquor and Poker said:

Well, you can't even look right at it, but I think the one I saw when I was in Mexico in 1991 was total.
But leave that out if you want.  Every few months there's some "once in a lifetime!" or "every [BIG NUMBER] years!" event that, at best, is not something you would even notice if you hadn't been looking for it.

If it got dark as midnight and cold, then light again over the span of a few minutes then it was a total eclipse. 

[Wiler77 1566]

Had a good view of it last night in Driftwood.  It helps that you are looking away from the city.  I could make it out with naked eye, so finding it with binoculars was easy.  Even my wife commented "ok that was cool.  Thanks for making me see it."

You don't have to go on a road trip to get a good view.

[crimsonlonghorn 2306]

10 hours ago, pantone159 said:

You only saw a partial solar eclipse, not a total one, or you would not say "huh".

 

I took my kids to Kansas City three years ago to see the eclipse. That morning it was raining in St Joseph, so instead of driving north we hauled ass east on I-70 to get out of the clouds and eventually ended up in a parking lot in Sedalia. 

It was hands down one of the most profound things I've ever seen in my life. The sunlight started getting dimmer and dimmer and then BOOM! it was dark and you could see the diamond ring and the red of the chromosphere just like the photos. It got so dark you the streetlights came on and you could see bright sunlight all around us not the horizon. Absolutely amazing. 

Totally worth the airfare and hotel room and all the other hassle to get there that weekend. 

I highly urge anyone not within the path in 2024 (i.e. Houston)  to find a way to get to Austin or San Antonio or Dallas. 99% just isn't the same thing. 

Edited July 22, 2020 by crimsonlonghorn

[DougO 5245]

I do a good bit of photography, but never delved into the astral type stuff, other than a blood moon or lunar eclipse, which is a bit different. Here are a couple of my better attempts out of a lot of even crappier shots.  Sorry, no fancy foregrounds around here to work with. The second features a UFO discovery moving across the screen.

 

 

 

 

[Jersey Man10 3528]

Are those the Elon Musk satellites?

[pantone159 719]

Those look like an airplane to me, with flashing red/green/white lights in a long exposure. The comet looks blue here, that is a nice photo!

[Updawg 2266]

airplane going by?

[DougO 5245]

Yes, it was an airplane...driven by aliens.

[RPM 26320]

Mothership

[Nice Guy Eddie 13512]

Googling how to watch the comet pushed me into a rabbit hole of youtube vids of amateur astrophotography. I was amazed by how much you can spend (and surprisingly how little you can spend) to get cool results.  It looks like a cool hobby if you live in an area with low light pollution. given that I live in central Houston, I think I would be frustrated with this hobby.

[DougO 5245]

Pretty cool...

 

 

 

[DougO 5245]

Went to the lake tonight to try to take another crack at it. It seemed more difficult to see despite it being darker. I think the moon being a bit brighter may have been a big factor in washing out the tail, made it more difficult to make it pop. Tried a lot of different things, got a couple of OK ones. Didn't get the kind of foreground scene I was looking for. There was some lightning in the clouds all around it but I never could get it mixed in properly.

 

[Mark42 24]

My contribution on the subject.
Single shot with wide angle lens, long exposure, processed in lightroom, barn is light painted with cell phone light. 
Taken 7 days ago, in Iowa.

[elfenix 34238]

Finally got out to where it was kinda visible if you didn't look directly at it. Light pollution around Houston really sucks. Seeing the Milky Way was nice.

[DougO 5245]

I gave it a look last night but couldn't see it at all. I think the moon has gotten too bright for reasonable visibility, combined with the natural light pollution.