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Comet McNaught C2006/P1

Capsid

Graduate Poster
Capsid
Joined
Apr 21, 2004
Messages
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Has anyone seen this? I had a look tonight with naked eyes but I think it can only be seen with binoculars since although it is relatively bright (mag 2.5) it's quite close to the sun.
 
For the last several evenings, I've managed to forget to look for it. Today, what reminded me at the right time was the spectacular sunset caused by clouds...sigh....
 
This comet has brigthened considerably! It can even be seen during daytime if you shield from the sun's glare. It has a magnitude of -2, although some reports speak of -4 to -5. It's the brightest comet since Ikeya-Seki in 1965. Tomorrow is forecast sunny for the UK, hopefully I can see it and maybe even get a photo.
 
I've been remembering to look for it today, but I'm also looking to avoid blindness, and since it's not quite 3 in the afternoon right now, I'm not having any luck.
 
Under the guidence of our 16 year old son we walked down the end of the street to see this comet yesterday afternoon. It was truly awesome... it appeared to be crashing towards the local university's physics/astronomy building.
 
I'm NEVER gonna get to see it.... probably. I tried all afternoon, but my eyes adjust slowly to light, so I'd go outside into the sunshine, and the brightness would make it almost impossible to see anything. Plus, I'm too lazy to put on shoes just for a quick trip outside, and it's lousy freezing here! Literally, and unusually. And if I read correctly, it's just about out of view for the northern hemisphere.
 
I had everything set up but still no luck in managing to see it. It was too close to the sun methinks.
 
A couple of days ago, I tried to spot the comet. The sky was crystal clear except at the place where the comet was supposed to be. Still, I tried to spy the comet. I could see Venus reasonably well, but not the comet.

So I decided to change my position, where I thought I might have a better view. After moving to a new vantage point, I promptly spotted a very bright point of light. Wow! Was it ever bright!

But when I looked at the light through my binoculars, I could see that something was wrong. The bright light seemed to pulsate. After a few seconds, I understood what was happening. Aircraft from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport were taking off in the direction of my house. The bright light was an aircraft, not a comet.

Within the next few minutes, more and more aircraft buzzed through my field of view. I never saw the comet (it being too hazy near the sun), but I got a better idea of how many jets fly out of MSP on an average afternoon.
 
Yeah, I can't wait - should be visible here tomorrow.

Scope set up ready to go!
 
Brown said:
Within the next few minutes, more and more aircraft buzzed through my field of view. I never saw the comet (it being too hazy near the sun), but I got a better idea of how many jets fly out of MSP on an average afternoon.
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Have you had a visit from Homeland Security yet?
 
I managed to spot it without magnification last night in Sydney after unsuccessfully trying to find it on Sunday.

Fortunately there was little cloud and it was above the haze (caused by bushfires I think). It was very impressive and recieved good coverage in the local press.
 
gtc said:
I managed to spot it without magnification last night in Sydney after unsuccessfully trying to find it on Sunday.

Fortunately there was little cloud and it was above the haze (caused by bushfires I think). It was very impressive and recieved good coverage in the local press.
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Well, I've run out of swear words!

I've waited all my life to see a proper comet, especially after the damp squib and greatest disappointment in history, the Halley one. And here's me living in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Cloudy today & tomorrow, but high hopes for Thurs/Fri/Sat. I am GUTTED!
 
The Atheist said:
Well, I've run out of swear words!

I've waited all my life to see a proper comet, especially after the damp squib and greatest disappointment in history, the Halley one. And here's me living in the Land of the Long White Cloud. Cloudy today & tomorrow, but high hopes for Thurs/Fri/Sat. I am GUTTED!
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Apparently it wasn't quite exciting enough for some inSydney.

"It was a little disappointing because the actual image of the sunlight reflecting off the aeroplane was actually a more exciting image than the comet."
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Wow!

We are in the right hemispere now, and the weather was great.

THAT is a comet. Utterly spectacular.

Finding Venus immediately after sunset, scanning the sky for the comet, then seeing McNaught, with a tail of about 5 degrees materialise, hanging in the sky in the same way that bricks don't.

The view through a 450mm telescope gave the impression of being able to reach out and touch it.

WOW!
 
I've got to add.

What a nice change it is to find something hyped up as the "Rumble in the Jungle" and actually living up to it. So many damp squibs have been around over the years, it's just fan-bloody-tastic when one turns out to exceed expectations.

Hope everyone catches a view of this. The universe is a very cool place.
 
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