Without doubt, visually this for me is the best comet since Hale-Bopp! I first observed it in the NW skies at around midnight- even though it was above the city with some light pollution and the brighter western skies, the comet was easily visible with the naked eye. My best views of it were the early hours of this morning when it was low in the NE skies. Visually to the unaided eye the comet's tail looked somewhat 'glittery'- it's hard to describe but it wasn't just a patch of mist, rather it seemed to be comet of a myriad sections of different intensity but which could not be resolved to the eye. Telescopically there was a strong golden yellow colour present, especially at the nucleus. The nucleus was very large and bright with two primary jets heading off the coma. Again the golden colour was present at both x38 and x100 in my 12" Newtonian which also revealed all manner of subtle structures. |
Page last updated: Thu 11 Jul 00:18:07 BST 2024