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Two, possibly Very Bright Comets for 2013...

waynelake

Member
Comet PANSTARRS, March 2013,
Comet ISON November 2013 - January 2014.

Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo: New Comet: C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS)
According to this very preliminary orbit based on an arc of only 2 weeks, this comet might become a bright object ( ~ magnitude 2) around perihelion in March-April 2013 and better placed for southern hemisphere. Next weeks will tell us something more about the future of this comet!!

Remanzacco Observatory - Comets & Neo
(Update) Comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS), discovered by Pan-STARRS 1 telescope on Haleakala, Maui, on the night of 2011, June 5-6, will reach perihelion in March 2013 when it will be located only 0.30 AU from the Sun and might become a bright naked eye object ( with a peak magnitude of anywhere from +1 to -1). At its brightest C/2011 L4 will appear only 15° from the Sun.

Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) will get to within 0.012AU of the Sun (extremely close) at the end of November 2013 and then to ~0.4AU from Earth at the beginning of January 2014! According to its orbit, this comet might become a naked-eye object in the period November 2013 - January 2014. And it might reach a negative magnitude at the end of November 2013.

FORUM
C/2012 S1 (ISON) - the next Great Comet?
Now, comet discoveries are run-of-the-mill, but this one is special!!
It will never go more southerly than Dec. = -22, (2013) so should be well-observable from both hemispheres!!
All in all, this is the recipe for a possible Great Comet!! It's reasonably likely to be a naked-eye object at least, and maaayyybe it will be similar to McNaught! (2007)
Let's see what the future holds.

*1 AU is the distance between Earth & the Sun.
*Negative magnitudes like -1 or -2 etc, = visible during the day, thru blue sky.
These astronomy people can get quite technical with their talk, and it can be difficult to understand or find basic information sometimes, like where in the sky, and of course the stars are upside down in the northern hemisphere compared to southern hemisphere. :toocool:

This is good news, if it happens, hopefully... I chased Comet McNaught January 2007 for a week, got great photos with a Canon 400D, Sigma 12-24, Zeiss 20 2.8 Flectagon, Zeiss 35-70 3.4 macro, and the 200 1.8..... I have photos here in gallery but are not too flash, quite rough as far as processing goes, but have them printed are much better... It was an amazing feeling driving around at night, knowing I needed to be somewhere, deciding where to go & be, for a week... and very disappointing when it was all over...
Now have the D800, and by such time I should have a Zeiss 15 or 18, 25 F2 and Nikon 85 1.8.
Undecided at moment about which fisheye & 35mm lens... Plenty of time to decide... :)
I have a few favorite places, and no doubt will find a few more...
 

waynelake

Member
Well, I went way up Remarkables ski field road Queenstown NZ just now, and I'm thinking this comet is lower on the horizon again. Theres a few mountains in the way. I could climb Mt Ben Lomond but its maybe 2 hours walk back down at night, or drive to a different place... Mmmm.... uncertain, will decide tomorrow...

My car took priority over camera gear this time (D800) but have some lenses... Got a BMW E38, 5.4L V12... lol... It did 7mpg up the ski field road, about 35mpg back down, using no brakes, changing to 1st & 2nd mostly... otherwise 25-30mpg on a trip, luxury & impressive to drive... :thumbup:
 
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waynelake

Member
Decided to google some more yesterday... Well this time I got photos of a comet. Uncertain which at moment, if its Panstarrs or Lemon. I'm guessing its Lemon. In NZ, theres the two magellanic clouds. The small is the lower. To right of this is a brightish star (not very bright). Doing a straight line from large magellanic cloud going down to this star, then nearly as much distance again in near straight line is a tiny star. Its a comet, shows up as such on sensor... YES...!!! Got it... lol... I used 50mm lens. Really need a 200mm and a 35mm. This is from Remarkables ski road, Cecil Peak left, Deer Park Heights (west) middle, Queenstown to the right...

No noise reduction. I'm uncertain whats best, but changed white balance, & other tiny changes. 50mm lens.



 

Braeside

New member
Comet C/2011 L4 PANSTARRS is up here in the N. Hemisphere now. Yesterday she was very close to the horizon by the time I was able to get a view clear of clouds:

[That is the comet lower right at 2 degrees above the horizon, it was visible with binoculars]



OM-D 100mm F/2.8 1 second ISO 1000. (Cropped).
 

waynelake

Member
Its been cloudy here last few days. Drought, & now a few hours rain.

This is from SpaceWeather.com -- News and information about meteor showers, solar flares, auroras, and near-Earth asteroids
"For casual sky watchers: A growing number of people are reporting that they can see Comet Pan-STARRS with the naked eye. Best estimates place the magnitude of the comet at +0.2, about twice as bright as a 1st magnitude star. As the comet moves away from the sun, its visibility is improving, which means you might be able to see it in the nights ahead."

Magnitude +0.2 is very bright, like can see it thru blue sky, maybe.
 
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