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TV-76 and Comet Swan

Started by rKGMzvFT5gL3s9, 10/27/2006 01:52AM
Posted 10/27/2006 01:52AM Opening Post
After quite a few cloudy nights, I was able to get out and observe on Wednesday night. We had a beautiful and brisk autumn day here in the Midwest. The day presented clear blue skies, a "fine frost" as Walter Houston would have said.

I started looking for Comet Swan in late twilight, and it was immediately apparent in my TV-76. I use a 24mm Panoptic to sweep the comet, and had closer observations with 13mm and 7mm Naglers.

The comet was very bright, and it is one of the prettiest I have seen. Although my experience isn't comprehensive, I have observed every major comet since the mid 90's including Hyakutake, Hale-Bopp, and Ikeya-Zhang.

The core was intensely bright with a stellar pinpoint at the center. The tail was dim but became visible as the dark progressed. I could readily discern it with direct and averted vision. The bright coma displayed a subtle greenish blue tint. This really is a remarkable object, especially considering how high up in the northwest sky it is placed after sunset.

I showed my 4-year old daughter the comet along with some deep sky objects and stars. Looking through the TV-76 and TeleVue eyepieces will spoil her when it comes to telescopes!

Today winter arrived in force with cold rain. Try to get out and see this comet if you can.

Michael Aaron McNeely
TeleVue Forum Moderator
Astromart.com