Comet Hartley
As I type this I'm sitting at my imaging computer watching comet Hartley with my LXD75 SN6/DSI Pro III. I suspect that this comet would be extremely challenging to observe visually. While it is relatively bright, it's nearly stellar and it is presently crossing a rich star field in Cassiopeia which is full of stars that probably look a lot like the comet. However, it is moving fairly quickly, so you might be able to pick out the 'star' that is moving.
-John
- Forums:
- Login to post comments
MVAS Memberships
The MVAS. is a proud Alliance Member of the Meade 4M Community
supported by Meade Telescope, makers of RCX400 Astronomical Telescopes
The MVAS is a member of NASA/JPL Night Sky Network
The MVAS is a member organization of The Astronomical League
I know this is from so long
I know this is from so long ago but I wanted to comment anyway. I also saw Hartley 2 summer nights ago through my 8" reflector from my backyard in Vandalia. It was the first and only comment I have ever seen. It was fairly faint but truly awesome!
Mike
Mike Banta
Cool. We've had a fairly long
Cool. We've had a fairly long drought for bright comets. However, there's almost always at least a couple that are within reach of amateur cameras.
Neat stuff.
-John
============================================
If 50 years of amateur astronomy and space exploration has taught me anything it is that the Earth is a very special place. It would be nice to protect it like it’s the only Earth we’re ever going to have.
I set up to image/observe
I set up to image/observe this evening with my ETX-60 fitted with a DSI Pro III and to observe with an LXD75-SC8. I was very surprised to find the comet to be a very easy target with the ETX and my camera, but really tough visually. I had to carefully compare the image coming from my camera with the star field I was seeing in my scope to track it down. Through the SC8 the comet was very diffuse without a clearly defined nucleus. In contrast, the image coming from the ETX showed a clear star-like coma and a diffuse tail. At the very end if the evening I replaced the camera on the ETX with an eyepiece and I could just barely detect the comet visually.
Faint little bugger.
-John
============================================
If 50 years of amateur astronomy and space exploration has taught me anything it is that the Earth is a very special place. It would be nice to protect it like it’s the only Earth we’re ever going to have.