Comet Pojmanski

By 05.15 i was already out in my backyard setting up my 8" F/6.3 SCT scope and aligned my telrad on Altair. The sky was crystal clear with great trans with thick crunchy snow on the ground. The Milkyway was like a cloud in Cygnus! At 49X i began a horizontal sweep low in the eastern sky beginning with the sky just above my garden fence and worked my way north, 30 sec later at 05.25 i swept up the Comet and was immediatley struck by how bright it was. My first impressions were that it looked similar to a globular cluster. The coma was a bright vivid blue colour, compact and well condensed with sharp edges and a hint of structure. The central condensation was a bright white disk and projecting away to the west was a lovely blue ion tail 45' long that broadened slightly with distance. Through the 10X50s i suspected the tail to be 2.5* long however i could not be certain. Once i knew were to look i seen the coma with the naked eye as a tiny soft blue star. Once the comet rose high enough i observed it with the 16" and alternated between it and the other equipment to enjoy the spectacle. This is a very nice comet!!
I observed the comet until the twilight glow washed it out and ended the session at 06.20. I text John and Kevin who was also observing it with the RCX!

Mag: 5.3 - 5.4 Dia: 3' D.C: 8....in Aquila

I took 2 images that barely show the coma as a tiny green speck to the bottom centre...





Heres a pick of me observing the comet in the snow..



Im very pleased to have seen this comet and went to bed feeling very happy! Great stuff on seeing the comet again Kevin and thanks for the text messages from you and John at such a late hour of the night!

Clear skies

Heres a not so good sketch i made...

My alarm went of at 05.00 and i headed out to the freezing pre dawn sky...

Had another look at the comet this morning when i swept it up with the 8" at 49X however due to poor trans in the lower sky sections i could not see it with the binos or naked eye. The coma is a + 3' wide well condensed object at DC7/ vivid blue in colour with a mottled structure? sporting a white disk like central condensation and again looking similar to a blue wandering globular cluster. Blue ion tail seen for 15' due west however i am sure it is much longer than this.

Lovely morning and a beautiful sky with snow on the ground. I was suprised just how quickly the glow of dawn crept up on me. Ended session at 06.05. Also had a look at M71, M27, M57, M13 and Beta Cygni. - 2nd obsv of this comet

Clear skies!