Several of you have told me that another hobby of yours is astronomy.
Comet 17P Holmes (a couple of engine names) is in great view now.
It is such a straight on view that it looks like it is coming straight at
us. I've been checking it out for hours with my 10 inch Newtonian.
It is in the Persius constellation.
Here is all the info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17P/Holmes
OT - Comet 17P Holmes
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CRoberson
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tjfroh
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Re: OT - Comet 17P Holmes
Charles,
Later this year the comet will approach Mirfak. It may be considerably dimmer then. I am viewing the comet with the naked eye, 8x42 and 16x70 binoculars, 150mm F/8 Celestron CR-6 refractor, 185mm F/15 Meade Maksutov and a Sky Designs 20 inch diameter F/4 Newtonian.
The Mak has a Losmandy G-11 dual-axis tracking mount. I always use the G-11 mount for star parties since I don't like re-locating objects. I prefer the views I get with the 70mm Fujinon binoculars because of the wide field and the ability to switch to other objects, including glowing meteor trains, in a second or two.
Star Maniac
Later this year the comet will approach Mirfak. It may be considerably dimmer then. I am viewing the comet with the naked eye, 8x42 and 16x70 binoculars, 150mm F/8 Celestron CR-6 refractor, 185mm F/15 Meade Maksutov and a Sky Designs 20 inch diameter F/4 Newtonian.
The Mak has a Losmandy G-11 dual-axis tracking mount. I always use the G-11 mount for star parties since I don't like re-locating objects. I prefer the views I get with the 70mm Fujinon binoculars because of the wide field and the ability to switch to other objects, including glowing meteor trains, in a second or two.
Star Maniac
CRoberson wrote:Several of you have told me that another hobby of yours is astronomy.
Comet 17P Holmes (a couple of engine names) is in great view now.
It is such a straight on view that it looks like it is coming straight at
us. I've been checking it out for hours with my 10 inch Newtonian.
It is in the Persius constellation.
Here is all the info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/17P/Holmes
A New Way Comes Upon Earth.
God is an infinitely variable Constant.
Man marks his ground with ideologies.
Galaxies are the dreidels of God.
War is a punishment for implacability.
Peace flows from forgiveness of sins.
God is an infinitely variable Constant.
Man marks his ground with ideologies.
Galaxies are the dreidels of God.
War is a punishment for implacability.
Peace flows from forgiveness of sins.
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Alessandro Scotti
Re: OT - Comet 17P Holmes
Been trying to observe it since the magnitudo drop, but weather has been terrible here. I got my only chance from the center of Rome with full moon, high humidity and some clouds... still an amazing view though! I've used 8x50 binoculars that night, hope to get a second chance with my Vista 80.
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tjfroh
- Posts: 8087
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- Location: Near the Intel Plant in the Land of Manana
- Full name: Timothy Frohlick
Re: OT - Comet 17P Holmes
Alessandro,
The 80mm telescope should give you a very nice view. Today on 2 Nov. 2007 Comet Holmes P17 is larger and more ghostlike than a few days ago. In my 20 inch there is a faint red tinge to the outer coma.
Enjoy computer chess and the sky,
TJ
The 80mm telescope should give you a very nice view. Today on 2 Nov. 2007 Comet Holmes P17 is larger and more ghostlike than a few days ago. In my 20 inch there is a faint red tinge to the outer coma.
Enjoy computer chess and the sky,
TJ
Alessandro Scotti wrote:Been trying to observe it since the magnitudo drop, but weather has been terrible here. I got my only chance from the center of Rome with full moon, high humidity and some clouds... still an amazing view though! I've used 8x50 binoculars that night, hope to get a second chance with my Vista 80.
A New Way Comes Upon Earth.
God is an infinitely variable Constant.
Man marks his ground with ideologies.
Galaxies are the dreidels of God.
War is a punishment for implacability.
Peace flows from forgiveness of sins.
God is an infinitely variable Constant.
Man marks his ground with ideologies.
Galaxies are the dreidels of God.
War is a punishment for implacability.
Peace flows from forgiveness of sins.
-
Alessandro Scotti
Re: OT - Comet 17P Holmes
Today the view was very nice indeed, with decent sky (for Rome anyway) and no moon. The comet was even visible to the naked eye.
The Vista 80 behaved well as expected (thus no need to take out the bigger scope) and provided a very good view. I could see no color in the scope but took several pictures with my FZ5 and the comet comes out yellow/gold there.
I was already quite happy at that point but later on I checked the current test tournament and discovered that Hamsters was doing better than expected! If the result holds until the end I can call this a very positive night!
The Vista 80 behaved well as expected (thus no need to take out the bigger scope) and provided a very good view. I could see no color in the scope but took several pictures with my FZ5 and the comet comes out yellow/gold there.
I was already quite happy at that point but later on I checked the current test tournament and discovered that Hamsters was doing better than expected! If the result holds until the end I can call this a very positive night!