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  2. Comet Panstars Thursday night.

Re: Comet Panstars Thursday night.

Paul
 

Thanks for sharing, Mark.

I agree that PanStarrs was easy naked eye tonight. I had fun at Huntington Beach showing it to some of the folks who stopped by. Most of the people were able to see it with the unaided eye. It was still subtle, but unmistakable, making it easy to point the scope right to it. It was the first view I had of it in my 8" dob.

I took care to notice the uneven brightening in the tail thanks to Kent's comment earlier today. Appreciate it, Kent!

What a beauty of a night!  The James River added to the allure. I followed the comet all the way down to the horizon. Afterwards we observed the Moon, which was an absolute stunner tonight as well. The view in my low power eyepiece got many exclamations from the crowd that gathered around my scope. They were amazed at how many features were visible on the "dark side" due to the abundant Earthshine.

I pointed out M42, Jupiter, and the Pleiades. One man who has a scope of his own and is progressing in the hobby was excited to see the Double Cluster for the first time.  I loved his comment when I showed him my cherished favorite, M35... "I couldn't count all those stars if I tried!"  Amen brother!


On Thu, Mar 14, 2013 at 11:30 PM, Mark Ost <jimcoble2000@...> wrote:
 

Kent, Stan, and I had a great time with the comet again. Kent was able to capture photos and the comet was easy naked eye. This has been the best in 15 years or so I think. Holmes was the most unique but a good old fashioned comets is nice to have. After that Kent and I continued to observe dim galaxies in Hydra, Leo and the upper Ursa Major. If you miss Panstars all you have to do is wait 106,000 years for the return trip.
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