Comet Ison

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"THE COMET SHOW BEGINS: Last night, March 12th, a rare meeting occured in the sunset sky. Comet Pan-STARRS (C/2011 L4) was only a few degrees away from the exquisitely-slender crescent Moon. Brian Klimowski sends this picture from the countryside near Flagstaff, Arizona:

"Beautiful show this evening!" says Klimowski. "I took the photo from an altitude of about 9500 feet in the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff. A 1-second exposure with my Canon digital camera easily revealed the comet."

Because of the sunset glow, Comet Pan-STARRS remains at the lower limit of naked-eye visibility. A small number of observers have reported seeing the comet with averted vision but, for the most part, binoculars are required. The situation will improve in the nights ahead as Comet Pan-STARRS moves away from the sun into darker skies. Later this week it might be possible to walk outside after nightfall, look west, and see the comet with the unaided eye. If you would like to try tonight, look for Comet Pan-STARRS directly underneath the waxing crescent Moon"

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just spectacular....

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I looked last night below the moon and didn't see it.

"COMET PAN-STARRS UPDATE: Comet Pan-STARRS might have brightened even more than expected when it swung past the sun on March 10th. Updated light curves show the comet peaked at 0th magnitude, about 2.5 times brighter than a 1st-magnitude star. Unfortunately, bright twilight surrounds the comet, making it difficult to find. Last night, Chris Cook pointed it out to his son from a sand dune in Cape Cod, Massachusetts,:


Even staring straight at it, however, father and son had trouble seeing the comet. Cook used a 2-second exposure with his digital camera to improve the view.

The situation will improve in the nights ahead as Comet Pan-STARRS moves away from the sun into darker skies. Soon, it might be possible to walk outside after nightfall, look west, and see the brightening comet with the unaided eye. If you would like to try tonight, look for Comet Pan-STARRS directly underneath the waxing crescent Moon: sky map."

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THE MAGNITUDE OF COMET PAN-STARRS: "There seem to be a lot of pictures, but a shortage of magnitude estimates for Comet Pan-STARRS," says Richard Keen, professor of atmospheric sciences at the University of Colorado. "I saw it for the first time this evening, and got a magnitude estimate before the comet slipped behind a narrow cloud bank." Keen is an expert observer of astronomical brightness, especially that of lunar eclipses which he uses to study aerosols in the stratosphere. "The comet is magnitude +0.2 with a short, but bright vertical tail. It was quite visible to the unaided eye. After the [head of the comet] set behind the mountains, the tail was visible for two or three more minutes."

A growing number of observers say they can see the comet with their unaided eye. Here it is on March 14th at sunset over Valley Forge, PA:



"The comet looked fantastic through my 10x70 Fujinon binoculars, and it was barely visible to the naked eye," says photographer John Chumack. Note: "Barely visible" is an improvement over recent nights.

Visibility should continue to improve in the nights ahead as Pan-STARRS moves away from the sun. Keen's magnitude estimate of +0.2 means that the comet is approximately twice as bright as a first magnitude star. When it is framed by darker skies, it will really stand out. Tonight when the sun goes down, step outside, face west, and take a look: "

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i always liked playing connect the dots 

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JIIIIIMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

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"THE BRIGHTNESS OF COMET PAN-STARRS: Comet Pan-STARRS is receding from the sun and dimming as it goes, yet sky watchers are seeing it better than ever. Because the comet is moving into darker skies, its visibility is improving. Atmospheric sciences professor Richard Keen of the University of Colorado is an expert at measuring the brightness of astronomical objects. "My best estimate for its brightness yesterday is magnitude +1.9, a factor of five fainter than five days earlier," says Keen. "However, thanks to the increasing altitude of the comet in a somewhat darker sky, it is still just as easy to see with the naked eye - actually, a bit easier, because it's no longer buried in the trees." Keen took this picture of the comet setting over the continental divide on March 19th:

"The comet is easy to spot here in the clear high-altitude skies of Colorado," Keen continues. "It appears to the unaided eye in the twilight sky as a slightly fuzzy star. Observers in more humid or hazier climates still might need binoculars to locate the comet."

"PanSTARRS will likely fade another magnitude or two over the next week as the moon brightens towards full on the night of the 26th," he predicts. "Then, on the 28th of March, the moon will rise a couple of hours after sunset, and the comet will become visible in a dark sky for the first time (for Northern observers). I expect it will still be of naked-eye brightness."

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http://weather.yahoo.com/comet-ison-see-potential-comet-century-online-today-151324702.html

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Getting bigger. As seen from the Hubble telescope

http://www.space.com/21816-comet-ison-fireworks-hubble-space-telescope-the-comet-of-the-century-video.html

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http://www.space.com/22002-comet-ison-timeline-sun-flyby.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+spaceheadlines+%28SPACE.com+Headline+Feed%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo

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Tis coming!

http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2013/09/10/if-the-sun-doesnt-blast-it-comet-ison-will-soon-light-up-the-sky/

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COMET ISON: Comet ISON is still more than two months away from its spectacular close encounter with the sun. Amateur astronomers aren't waiting. The brightening comet has become a good target for backyard telescopes in the pre-dawn sky and pictures of the comet are pouring in. Chris Schur captured this image from his home observatory in Payson, Arizona:

"This 25 minute exposure shows the comet through a 12 inch telescope," says Schur. "The image has sharp focus, perfect tracking and the star trails are unbroken and smooth. A nearby star added to the nice composition."

At the moment, ISON is too dim for the naked eye--"I estimate the comet's magnitude to be +12.5," says Schur--but it is on track to become an impressive sungrazer. For comparison, Comet ISON is brighter than Comet Lovejoy was in 2011 at a similar distance from the sun. The fact that Comet Lovejoy turned into a spectacular sungrazer bodes well for the performance of Comet ISON.

Observers of Comet ISON will notice that it is in the same part of the sky as Mars. The comet will make a close approach to the Red Planet on October 1st, and during that time Mars satellites will be taking ISON's picture at point blank range. Those images will likely rival or improve upon the view from Earth. Stay tuned to the Comet ISON Photo Gallery for updates from both planets.

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IS COMET ISON POISED TO DISINTEGRATE? As Comet ISON passes Mars en route to the sun this week, the comet is still faint. Nevertheless, many experts believe the comet is on track to become a bright sungrazer in late November. Astronomer Ignacio Ferrin of the University of Antioquia Institute of Physics in Colombia disagrees. Ferrin believes Comet ISON is about to disintegrate. The light curve of ISON, he argues, resembles the light curves of other comets that have have fallen apart. If he's right, the "Comet of the Century" could turn into a century-class disappointment. Stay tuned to the Comet ISON Photo Gallery for updates.

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COMET ISON IN COLOR: Comet ISON is brightening as it approaches the sun. Estimates by experienced observers put the comet between 10th and 11th magnitude. That's too dim to see with the unaided eye, but bright enough for color photography through mid-sized backyard telescopes. Michael Jäger of Weißenkirchen, Austria, observed the comet on Oct. 5th and found that it was green:



To image the comet, Jäger combined multiple exposures through red, green, blue, ultraviolet and infrared filters. Details may be found here.

ISON's green color comes from the gases surrounding its icy nucleus. Jets spewing from the comet's core probably contain cyanogen (CN: a poisonous gas found in many comets) and diatomic carbon (C2). Both substances glow green when illuminated by sunlight in the near-vacuum of space.

Finding Comet ISON is easy. It rises alongside Mars in the eastern sky just before dawn. Amateur astronomers, if you have a GOTO telescope, enter these coordinates. Sky maps: Oct. 7, 8.

The comet merits watching in the weeks ahead. While many experts believe ISON is on track to become a bright sungrazer in late November, astronomer Ignacio Ferrin of the University of the Antioquia Institute of Physics in Colombia predicts a different outcome. He believes Comet ISON is about to disintegrate. The light curve of ISON, Ferrin argues, resembles those of other comets that have fallen apart prematurely. If he's right, the "Comet of the Century" could turn into a century-class fizzle. Stay tuned to the Comet ISON Photo Gallery for updates.

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He used his iphone