- This topic has 8 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 5 years, 5 months ago by
Neil Morrison.
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13 May 2020 at 8:58 pm #574614
David SwanParticipantI am sure everyone knows that comet SWAN is moving towards visibility in the UK sky. I thought I’d set up a thread for postings of first sightings – visual and CCD – by BAA members.
There are indications that it might not be behaving as we might have hoped…
13 May 2020 at 9:04 pm #582446
David SwanParticipantHergenrother (credible observer) reported mag 5.7 at 2020/05/13.46
15 May 2020 at 4:47 am #582459
Nick JamesParticipantHere you go David. An image from Chelmsford this morning is here. It is not really world-shattering stuff but at least it is visible from here now. Not quite the as good as Rhemann’s image from Namibia.
15 May 2020 at 8:27 am #582460
David SwanParticipantThis is great, thanks. Good to see it has arrived in the northern sky. It is obviously quite a bright object (would you say mag 5 – 6 is about right?) from looking at the stars that are visible in your image. Unfortunately we’ve had a lot of cloud at the NE coast these past weeks, and I haven’t been able to observe for some time. I’m ready with binoculars and a DSLR. The latest images do show a dust tail, which I hope develops further.
15 May 2020 at 4:01 pm #582463
David SwanParticipantSo I went to the Daily Mail for the latest authoritative information on C/2020 F8 … and to my great surprise came across some commentary by Nick!
15 May 2020 at 5:22 pm #582464
Nick JamesParticipantMy great surprise too! They have lifted some quotes that I gave to a journalist who writes for Forbes magazine. The original article is here.
15 May 2020 at 7:41 pm #582465
David SwanParticipantThe Forbes article is measured, with wise comments from you.
16 May 2020 at 10:10 am #582467
Nick JamesParticipantDavid, Thanks. At the moment this is definitely not a comet for the general public to get excited about. I got it again this morning. It was much higher (5 deg vs 2.5 deg) but there was more cloud and haze so the two cancelled out. Picture attached. Bear in mind that this was with a 200mm FL lens so quite a small field of view. The comet is still quite hard to spot.
16 May 2020 at 12:35 pm #582469Neil Morrison
ParticipantYou were very Lucky Nick. Here beside Gatwick Airport in Crawley. Sky clear at 2300h..Bst 15th Camera set up with Sony SLT 65a and 85m F1.4 lens 16th 0300h Bst thick medium level stratus 0400 Bst still similar so abandoned watch. No break in Clouds until 11.00 Bst which only lasted for a short period. Try again Sunday Morning in hope for better conditions
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