Comet Pan-STARRS and its March+ 2013 appearance

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Success in Calgary a very small (quite smaller than i had expected) comet Pan-STARRS became visible about 30 mins after sunset and remained visible for about 40 mins until descending into cloud cover over the Rockies i spotted it initially using a pair of 15x70s.

You are correct Dave i found the comet was visible to the naked eye however this was only after i had located it with the binos and with difficulty it looked like a tiny faint star with no visible tail.

However through the binoculars the comet spanned one third the size of the moon, it displayed a beautiful pinpoint nucleus with a bright coma transitioning into the tail, its tail had quite a nice curve with a pronounced edge on the upper right side, on the lower side its tail simply seemed to dissolve into the twilight, when i first spotted the comet it was a brilliant white then it began to develop a blue tint before turning into a bright orange as it decended out of veiw.

With credit to their photographer Mr. Jamin Jiang attached are 2 photos please note the comet can be found to the lower left of the airliner its quite hard to sopt, the photos are not great quality since i dont know much about editing :smashpc: .

Any way i wish all in Ireland much luck over the next couple of nights clear skies and happy hunting,

Brendan Donnellan.

Heres a different one this is my favourite.
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well it was no show down in sugar loaf in wicklow mountains...hope i am going to get more luck tonight.well done to evryone who managed to observe it.

Well done to all who spotted the comet. :rock:

A few of us tried on Monday & Tuesday night at a site on the south side of Saggart Hill (just outside Dublin) but with no luck. Kudos to Michael Murphy though who was first to spot the slender lunar crescent last night when it appeared from behind some cloud. The Moon was a wonderful sight in my 15x70mm binoculars and more than made up for not seeing the comet I think.

Dramatic views of the snow-covered Wicklow mountains from the Saggart Hill location too. If anyone is interested in finding what is now rapidly becoming my favourite observing site close to Dublin for quick views of celestial sights then there's a map linked to at dl.dropbox.com/u/25805353/PDFs/Slademore.pdf ... the site has a great southern sky aspect.

John

Congrats to those who have spotted PanStarrs. I hope to try tonight, provided the weather is favourable. Thanks for scouting that new observing site John - it sounds good.

Unfortunately, walking 250 metres could be a problem because some of us NEED masses of equipment, we would be NAKED without at least one telescope, a mount, a camera, some huge batteries, a PC, etc. etc. I'll check the spot on the Military Road overlooking Glenasmole where the model aircraft enthusiast sometimes gather - I'm not sure if the Western aspect is sufficiently clear. Failing that, it's Saggart Hill with binoculars, a camera and a light tripod.

Fingers crossed!!

Mike

Nerro and Mick. Please give precise times as to your observations wherever you end up!

Aubrey.