I've been spending a snow day reading Gerald North's excellent "Advanced Amatuer Astronomy" as well as James Muirden's most excellent collection of articles by various experts "Sky Watcher's Companion". One of the striking things about both these books is that in the comet hunting sections they explode a misconception that I had about what a good comet hunting rig would be. I'd always thought of some rather wealthy person standing on a private mountaintop with a giant set of binoculars mounted on a pier.
Well, as it turns out, David Levy used a 400mm reflector to find his most famous comet. Likewise, Canadian comet hunter Rolf Meier used a 400mm reflector to find 4 of his comets. Then there's William Bradfield who found 11 of his 13 comets with a 6" short focus refractor and another one with a 10" reflector and still another with a set of 7x35 binoculars.
Still, no matter what equipment works, that has got to take some amazing level of dedication and persistance. I'm usually thrilled just to be able to locate one that has already been well publicized.
Mike Swaim
Well, as it turns out, David Levy used a 400mm reflector to find his most famous comet. Likewise, Canadian comet hunter Rolf Meier used a 400mm reflector to find 4 of his comets. Then there's William Bradfield who found 11 of his 13 comets with a 6" short focus refractor and another one with a 10" reflector and still another with a set of 7x35 binoculars.
Still, no matter what equipment works, that has got to take some amazing level of dedication and persistance. I'm usually thrilled just to be able to locate one that has already been well publicized.
Mike Swaim
