Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)

I had clear skies early in the night, but couldn't observe at that point; then the clouds rolled in and I'm still waiting... in spite of a forecast stating clear skies and frost 

It seems that binoculars are better than telescopes on observing comets no matter what magnitude the comets are. 

Best regards from Aubrey. 

And just like that the clouds disappear and perfect viewing, albeit a 7-day Moon in Pisces. With averted vision I'm confident it was naked-eye, est mag 5.4. The image, 45 seconds with a 105mm DSLR lens, is from 2013 UT, 3.3 degrees east of Kochab and 30 million miles from Earth. That brings my comet count to 40.

Clear skies,
Finbarr.

That's great news, Finbarr!
Huge congratulations on reaching 40 comets! Wow!
Thank you for this sensational image also. 

My skies are clear too. 
But it's far too late to set up any optical equipment. And we are entertaining guests tonight. 
Still, I'm very much encouraged to try again to see Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF. 

Clear skies from Aubrey.   

Hello all. 

I chatted to our own Michael Murphy tonight at a meeting of the Irish Astronomy Society. 
He informed me that I could find our Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) using my Guide 9.1 DVD. 
He is right!
I just needed to do an update first. 

So I dabbled around the DVD, clicked on "Extras". 
Then clicked on "Comet/Asteroids Options". 
Then clicked on "Add MPS comets/asteroids. 
Finally "Click download updated comet data"
And Hey Presto: the Comet C/2022 E3 appears near Polaris for tomorrow night - 31st January 2023.  
The comet will be in Camelopardalis on Tuesday night near a magnitude 4.5 star that has a spectral class of K4 or K5. 
This star is called SAO 6022 or HD 49878. 
The view ought to be good for imagers. 
Anyway, I'm in business!
I will be setting up my 10X50 binoculars first before using the refractor. 
I'm not sure if I will have clear skies on Tuesday night. 
www.met.ie says we will have fairly strong winds and some cloud. 
I'll just have to wait and see. 
My special thanks to Michael for all his help thus far. 
I have now printed off a map. 

Clear skies from Aubrey. 

Hello everyone.
I have never had such a "labour of love" to find a comet in all my days. 
But I had great success in hunting down the Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF. 
It was even visible at 11x in my William Optics 70mm f/6 apochromatic refractor despite the bright gibbous -11.3 Moon.  
I star hopped my way up from Polaris, OV Cep, VZ Cam, and finally reached SAO 6022. 
At 40x in my main scope there was no problem seeing this 5.4 magnitude comet. 
It looked very like a good-sized galaxy with plenty of gas around it. 
I never saw any green colour. 
Silvery-grey I would say with a strange nucleus. 
The comet was constantly on the move upwards the more I observed it - moving away from some faint stars, and getting closer to others. 
The magnifications I used on it were:11x, 40x, 112x, 140x, 140x, 225x and 280x. 
Guide 9.1 DVD told me its distance: 42,663,818 kms from Earth. 
It's my 14th comet overall.
Maybe this Thursday night I will look for it again if it's clear. 

Clear skies from Aubrey.