Comet C2006 M4 Swan

Hi,
I have put a chart of Comet SWAN 2006/M4 during the rest of October at:
www.irishastrosoc.org/obs.htm

Might this be a interstellar comet? Eccentricity given as 1.0002650
Perhaps the uncertainty in elements could change this. Also any non-gravational forces will have to be taken into account.

Anyway observe it. I would be interested in obtaining any observations.

John O'Neill
Director of Observations
IAS

This is a hyperbolic comet, we may never see it again,(not meaning the rain )you can generate an Ephemeris from anywhere using this JPL system.

ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.cgi?find_body=...amp;sstr=C/2006%20M4

Hyperbolic explaination on this site plus other comet things

www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/comets/p...ss.html&edu=high



Thanks John, for the handy ephermeris on the IAS website.

Deirdre Kelleghan
Irish Astronomical Society
www.irishastrosocorg

I just got a look at this today with my 10x50s and it was quite easily visible even from Maynooth. I did a quick and dirty scketch (not an pathc on Dee's great work) to show where it is.



You can also find a full report of my evening's observing here: www.bartbusschots.ie/blog/?p=317

Comet C2006 M4 SWAN
15X70 SkyMaster Binoculars
20:38:00 UT
19/10/06
Humidity 94%
Bray
Co Wicklow
Bootes
Mag ? 6.5

This evening I got my second look at Comet C2006 M4 SWAN it is brighter than last time maybe 6.5 a defined bright center with lots of nebulous material all around it. Not easy to see an tail but in my binoculars it was or seemed to be brighter toward my left looking at it tonight, happy to see it again. SWAN looked very well below and in the same fov as Seginus or Gamma Bootes.

Earlier I had a look at it in my Sky Watcher 200mm with a 25mm Meade eyepiece and it looked, well the main bright point within it looked defined still hard to see a tail or even the direction the material was headed or the shape of the material. My 9V went in my red light, what a pain, I grabbed the only other torch in the house.

Of course it was one of these million candle jobs from the garage, who needs a million candels to draw in the dark. I shoved it in a bush backward to take the glare off it, so I could at least see my dots/stars.

Headed to the shop in between my first and second sketch for 9V the telescope was dripping wet and so fogged up. What a wet country we have here, but still its great to see a comet and to follow one, there is so much to learn in the following.

Comet C2006 M4 SWAN
Sky Watcher 200mm
25mm Meade eyepiece
19/10/06
Humidity 94%
19:00 UT
Bootes

Have to check out the stars for my Sky Watcher sketch, tried the 8mm TVP no good, tried the 10mm Kellner no good, 25 mm Meade was best tonight, and the binoculars were really good.





Deirdre Kelleghan
Irish Astronomical Society
www.irishastrosoc.org

Hi,
I have posted a photo of C/2006 M4 SWAN at the IAS site:
www.irishastrosoc.org/obs.htm

Digital image with a refractor at 390mm focal length. Increased contrast to show the (faint) tail.
Taken on evening of 12th Oct 2006.
Conditions that evening were not great with mist and scattered light from a football pitch.

John

Nice photo John, what mag is SWAN now? it was much brighter last night even in the haze of Bray.

Deirdre Kelleghan
Irish Astronomicl Society
www.irishastrosoc.org