Comet NEOWISE C/2020F3

     Behold Comet NEOWISE. Not since 1997 when the great Comet Hale-Bopp appeared have I been able observe a comet without optical aid.  That 23 year gap exceeds the typical 10 year gap between great comets.   NEOWISE probably doesn't qualify as great but it does break the drought of prominent naked-eye comets which the northern hemisphere has been mired in.

   Saturday morning I was able to drive up to a location 370' above Lake Michigan to observe and photograph this stunning outer solar system interloper.

      Although this apparition of the comet thus far has favored the early morning hours, it is moving north and west and as of today it is best viewed in the northwest after sunset. Due to gravitational perturbations from the major planets, this visit to the inner solar system will increase the comet's period from 4500 years to 6800 years. You can check it out now or wait until the year 8820. 

Meteor and Comet 12/15/2018

 
The dingy winter sky picked the most opportune time to clear this month as the Geminid Meteor Shower and the closest approach of Comet P/46 Wirtanen coincided late this week.

  Thursday night before work I sat out on the deck with camera aimed skyward and caught a bright meteor streaking by.

   Shortly after 1 o'clock this morning I photographed the bluegreen peroidic comet P/Wirtanen as it shoots the gap between the Hyades and Pleiades Star Clusters this weekend.

The Hyades cluster makes up the face of Taurus the Bull.

Moon Venus and Comet Catalina 12/6/15

 This morning after work I headed to the nearest dark site to attempt to photograph Comet Catalina before the morning dawn got too bright.

Moon and Venus

Venus

Venus and Comet Catalina

Screen-grab from Starry Night Enthusiast  program

  Tomorrow the view will be more interesting as moon slides down within a degree of  Venus in the predawn.  As the day progresses the Moon will actually cover Venus as seen from most of North America. In Michigan this will occur shortly after noon, and last about an hour and ten minutes before Venus can be seen emerging from behind the Moon around 1:30 PM.  If the skies are clear the beginning of the event should be visible in binoculars despite the mid-day sun 40 degrees away.

Comet 2014 Q2 1/13/2015

  Comet Lovejoy 2014 Q2 made for a nice target on a 5 degree evening on Tuesday.  

  In the photo the tail is faintly visible to the left of the head of the comet.

Comet 2014 Q2 1/12/2015

In August 2014,Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy, discovered his fifth comet.  Initially it was expected to reach only magnitude 7 (2.5x dimmer than the naked eye can detect), but it has peaked at magnitude 4 and can be detected with the naked eye from a dark site. The exponential nature of the astronomical brightness scale, means that a 3 magnitude increase is 2.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 = 15 times brighter. Photos reveal the blue-green color of the comet.

Green blob left of the tree

  This photo shows  two galaxies the Andromeda Galaxy on the right at a distance of 2 million lightyears and the Triangulum Galaxy faintly visible on the left.

Comet through my scope

     Drove back to Pt. Mouillee again this evening and did some comet viewing with  Allen Chartier and his wife Nancy.   The nearly cloudless sky gave me a chance to photograph Comet Panstarrs through my telescope.  



View through Celestron C-8

Shot through my 500mm lens

  The photo above shows the comet as the sky got a little darker.   The longer exposure revealed a dim star under the comet.  The star is named 51 Piscium and it shines at magnitude 5.68.  With each magnitude equaling roughly 2.52x brighter the Panstarrs is probably 3 or 4 magnitudes brighter than the star.

Comet Panstarrs 3/13/13

 For the second time this week I drove down to Pt. Mouillee Headquarters to catch a glimpse of Comet Panstarrs low on the western horizon after sunset.  Was clouded out on Monday.  Saw it today with binoculars and obtained a few photos.

2 day old Moon just before sunset

Finally found it, 40 minutes after sunset

Comet just above the trees in the lower center 15 minutes before it set