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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Dave,

Thank you for registering as a member of the Chicago Astronomer family and for your first post.

Congrats on sighting Macholz, and from China! Please do tell us more on your location and observation. How are the skies there and how do they compare with Chicago's mucky skies? Are you using any equipment for see it, or just naked eye?

I fondly remember Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake. Both great comets with fabulous tail structures. Even here in the heart of the city, they could be easily made out with the naked eye.

I look forward to reading more of your posts and thanks.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Green Comet

On Friday night, January 7th, Comet Machholz visits the Pleiades.


From NASA:

January 5, 2005: A cloud of gas bigger than the planet Jupiter, glowing alien green, is about to sweep past the Seven Sisters in Taurus. Got binoculars? You can watch it happen.

Step outside on Friday night, January 7th, between 9 and 10 o'clock, and face south. There’s Orion the Hunter locked in combat with Taurus the Bull. The star patterns are unmistakable. Just above them hovers a delicate little dipper--the Seven Sisters, a.k.a. the Pleiades. [sky map]

This is how the sky looks almost any evening in January. Except on January 7th there's something extra: the green cloud.

Look 2 degrees to the right of the Pleiades. The tip of your pinky finger, held at arms length is about 1 degree wide, so 2 degrees is two pinkies. The cloud resembles a faint and fuzzy star, barely visible to the unaided eye, but easy to see through binoculars.

If you've followed these instructions, you've just found Comet Machholz.

More Here: science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/05jan_machholz.htm?list1069419

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I finally know now why it glows green!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

We make the Scandinavian Sector...

While checking my visitor stats, one astronomer who created a comet page for Macholz, has found our site suitable enough to have created a link to us. We are under Macholz 2...

users.skynet.be/flapogen/maand.htm

I don't know what language it is, but it looks Dutch.
Thanks Sir Flapogen!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

FINALLY...Joe Targets Comet Macholz!!!

At around 7:00 PM Thursday evening, I decided to go out and try to catch Macholz with my trusty 10x50's. With snow crunching beneath my feet, dressed quite warmly and skies partially cloudy & hazy, I started my search.

I found the Pleiades almost immediately and then proceeded to scan to the southeast of the cluster, but nothing. I searched some more...nothing. My breath was interfering with the search, as it wafted in front of my line of sight, catching the streetlights and acting like a movie screen. So I had to modify my breath...blowing out to the side and away. Then the clouds, the damned clouds kept strolling by. They were thin enough that the Pleiades were visible through them, but still, I waited until they were clear of the immediate area.

I started the search again...Then, at about the five o'clock position...something...a smudge. Hooray.........Macholz at last!!! A big smile washed across my face as I continued to verify the object. I couldn't see it naked eye no matter how hard I tried, but in binoculars, quite easy. Averted vision brought out the comet the best.

It appears as a faint cluster, or like the Andromeda galaxy, and no visible tail, and a very slight tinge of greenish/bluish color...ever so slight. The heat emanating from my face was fogging up the eyepieces, and I had to drop the viewing to clear them up. I could only get about 20 seconds of viewing before I had to allow the eyepieces to clear again. So for about fifteen minutes...20 seconds at a time, I gazed at the visitor.

But...it is there as plain as day...or night in this case. I can't wait until I train a scope on it and study it for real.

Also...

Look at the numbers regarding this Board on Macholz. Over 63 replies and 2431 views here, all checking to see what the Chicago Astronomers say about the Comet. This is by far...the most popular board on this forum ever!

When I check my visitor stats, practically all now are relating to search engine searches for the Comet, and we are quite often the number one reference listing when someone punches in keywords relating to Macholz and his comet.

Ain't it great being an Astronomer?

[starthrower]

Observed C/2004 Macholtz at 1735 GMT/UT from Stockholm Sweden (59 N 18 long) in dark clear skies ( semi-dark suburban). 3hrs approx 18m SE of Pleiades in Aries. (at approx. +22 H dec)

The ball was a few seconds from Tau Ari and a few more from Zeta Ari. In 10 x 50s the apparition looked a bit like Sagitta, forming an arrow made of Tau, the comet, and Zeta plus another star.

Saw no tail even with filters (UHC and Deep Sky) on 40 mm lense in a 120 mm scope (approx. 5 inch, refractor). None in binos either. Color was opaque white to my eyes, low brightness, which is why Messier used to confuse globular clusters with comets.

Nice sight at about (strangely, about like M31s) 3 magnitude. At 59 N it is really near the top of the sky (this would be all Alaska viewers, Korea, Finland, Russia and so on.)

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Steven (Starthrower),

Thank you for your first posts and observation from Sweden. Your locational descriptions and coordinates of the comet are quite precise and regimented. Tycho Brahe would be proud.

I find it quite amazing that astronomers all over the world can share with each other our love of the skies, that only 10 years ago was not common.

Hope to see you here on the Forum often.

[timothy]

Hi All
I was able to visit Q2 ( Machholz ) tonight thursday the 6th at 9:00pm cst. Like Joe says, it was at 5:00 and about 5 degrees from the Pleiades. With my 10-50's wide angle of view I had the pleiades and the comet in the same FOV, very remarkable. I did a quick sketch so I can do a better job in my sketch book in the warmth of home.
I was also happy to be able to show comet Machholz to a couple guys at work. One a first timer. I'm sure I'll be hearing more from him after he has time to think about it. The second Guy is somewhat seasoned. He has a 6" meade reflector' but all he has talked about is seeing M13 and also rubbing in that he goes camping somewhere on the Mississippi river and scans the Milkyway with binoculars. When he saw the comet tonight he said " yep, thats a comet " comparing when he saw the comets in 96 and 97 naked eye. Then he says " how do you find these things? " I've given him a lot of information ( charts and literature ) to turn his spark into a fire. I think he's coming along.

[stargazer]

Well Guys,

I hate to say this but I saw the Comet last night naked eye. We took Cj out to a sledding hill and while waiting for her to come down the hill I shielded my eyes and was looking at Pleaides and saw out of the corner of my eye a fuzzy ball. And sure enough it was the Comet. Sorry Joe dont be mad. I couldnt see any detail but I was happy enough just to see it naked eye.

Becky

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Here's an interesting question from "Views_through_The_eyepice_ yahoo group:

"The cloud is the comet's wispy atmosphere or, as an astronomer would
say, its "coma." With a diameter greater than 450,000 km, the coma is
at least three times wider than Jupiter. "

I'm trying to get my head around that statement. Is it saying that the
ball that makes up Machholz's coma is three times wider than the planet
Jupiter? If Jupiter made a visit to our neck of the solar system,
swinging by at a mere 0.35 AU, wouldn't it appear as a gigantic orb
dominating the night sky? Machholz is barely a naked-eye object, so
I'm having trouble processing that statement about it being three times
wider than Jupiter. Can someone enlighten me?

----------

Don, perhaps you can enlighten us on this....

Also, check your email please for the info you requested.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

I have been notified that this thread may have been accidentally locked. This was not the intention. I have examined the board, and all looks ok now.

If you have trouble posting here in the comet board or any other place...please let me know right away@

Thanks to all.

[starthrower]

Kept getting multiple replies from your response to my observation note on the comet. I blocked the message.

So the comet is naked-eye visible now? It is the closest to the Sun as it wil get, according to S&T.

Can't tell here: complete rain and wind storm with milky soup for a sky.

I host a pro-am astronomy e-zine at www.geocities.com/kentauruscom/NAR_home.htm

Know anyone who wants to contribute, just holler.

Don't worry: it's in English. (Bad place to advertise, I know, but...)

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Comet Macholz Breezes by The Pleiades

Well Fellow Chicago Astronomers....this is what we missed!...

It's quite a pretty image of the two together. It is very unfortunate that many, many were clouded over, not only here in the United States, but around the world. Some some lucky people got the chance of a lifetime to catch it.

Excellent for them...and for us!

I wonder what the astrologers would make of the pairing of the two?

[starthrower]

Comet is +26 or so dec and in Taurus on 9 Jan about 1700 GMT/UT. It was right among a few interesting double stars above M45.

I think I see it (barely) with naked eyes as it sinks in SW. I also believe I detect parabolic hoods, really wide and almost unnoticeable until you stare at it for awhile in binos. The helioarchichal drift is head on to us as it orbits the Sun, the solar wind blowing it back, so the "tail" is probably pointed out behind it. The "pin" (the nucleus) seems even more brighter than a few days ago as well.

Weather was steady and clear, unlike the day before...or the day after. 10 Jan as bad as Jan 8 weather wise. 11th supposed to be nice here...

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Starthrower,

It would be a great effort if you could take an image of the comet from your perspective. Nothing fancy, just a straight shot with a 35mm and a 50mm lens. I would say maybe...20 seconds of exposure?

I think it's great that you have a site for observeres north of 50 degrees. Quite a different perspective for the rest of us.

Now all we need here is someone from 50 degrees south...and the Chicago Astronomers have both hemispheres covered!

[timothy]

Starthrower
Very informative report, although there were a couple things I did'nt understand so I had to look them up. First the parabolic hood. Kind of like a very dim bowl that the comet is trying to get into, on the sun side of the comet. Do I understand this properley? Is it bigger or smaller than the coma?
Second is the helioarchichal drift. I could not find anything on this. Would you mind explaining.
By the way, I love your user name.

[cometdon]

Greetings all;

It's nice to be back on board.

Let's see if the comet's tail becomes more visible as we get more of a sideways view of it in the next few weeks. For the past two months the tail has been more-or-less pointed away from us.

As for the question about the size of the coma, it is very large. The exact size is hard to determine, it is like asking how high the earth's atmosphere is. The comet's coma is a thin atmosphere, stuff that sprews off the nuclues, which itself is only about 10 miles across. But if the coma appears to be a degree across these nights, (and the larger the instrument, the smaller the coma will generally seem to be), then the coma is nearly as large as the sun. But it is so thin that you can see stars through it!

I have not been able to see much color on this comet. If anything, it seems a bit blue. The largest telescope I've seen it in so far is 10". The color and tails often appear better in photographs for any comet.

The nuclear region is very bright. I've heard of jets and such, but haven't seen them myself. Tonight I think I'll take out the 6" and crank up the power a bit.

In less than a month I'll be at the Winter Star Party, my first trip there. I'm also going to Penn in early June.

When I found the comet it was 64 degrees F. Will it warm you up to think of that when you look at the comet from snowy ground?

Last night I was at Nevada City (CA) for a public star party to show the comet but I think the snow there kept everyone away (it was also a back-up night for a rained-out session). I stood in the snow looking at the comet naked eye. It was a pretty sight. This morning from my observatory here in Colfax (no snow) I went comet hunting in 31 degree F weather. That is probably warm to a lot of you.

Take care and keep looking up.

Don Machholz

[timothy]

Don
So that explains why we have'nt been able to see a tail. I've been feeling a bit let down about that. If there is no tail then it is a fuzzy asteroid.

Clear Skys

[stargazer]

Don

Welcome back. The night I was able to see the Comet naked eye I was able to see some color as to what it was I dont know as I am color bind. But I am looking foward to going to the WSP in a couple weeks. I am hoping to see it when we get down there. The nice warm weather ought to do me some good. Im looking foward to some good nights with plenty to see and who knows maybe finish a cert or two. I have also started the Comet and Asteroids Certs and Don yours is the first Comet on the list.


Becky

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Dennis and his Igloo Observatory has done it again!

Don's Comet in full errie motion.

Here is a still from his compressed 80 minute exposure animated movie:

Visit his site for the full show: home.att.net/~dpersyk/new.htm

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Caught Don's Comet this Evening

Dinner was about an hour away, and I had noticed that the skies were clear. I figured that I would try and catch Macholz before the nights meal.

It was incredibly cold, so lugging out the scope was not an activity I wished to execute, so I grabbed the trusty 10x50's and started my search. I recalled the last time I targeted it, was when it was a day away from it's close encounter with the Pleaides...so from that starting point and consulting a chart with the comet's course I panned north.

For about 2 minutes, I still had not located it. The streetlights were beaming into my face, and I was doing the "Find the small shadow spot" dance, away from the lights. When I did locate a shaded spot, the half moon was casting it's silver glow, bathing me in unwanted light. But I continued.

I had to adjust my breathing, as again it wafted between me and the sky, causing a veil of condensation and catching the damned streetlights like a threater screen. Blowing out to the side, my eyepieces were fogging up as well. I had to lower them from time to time to clear them up.

Looking almost at Zenith and around 6:30 pm, I finally found it. I think it's just about as bright as I last saw it, but this time far away from The Pleiades, I couldn't compare color, so it appeared without color. I could not discern a tail, but the coma was clearly visible and much like a globular cluster. It could not see it naked eye, but as thin clouds were passing overhead, I could still see it thru them. Quite cool!

I observed it for about 10 minutes, but the bitter cold was getting to me, as I did not prepare for a prolonged observation session. Content that I observed it, I headed back into the warmth of my kitchen, the evening meal's aroma greeting me and set for a night of answering astronomical emails, maintaining the forum and some Monday evening television.

[timothy]

Finally, I was able to get the scope on comet Machholz again. First I used my 10-50's to scan the area I figured it should be in since I last saw it. Ahh, there it is. So I get the scope on it. The comet is dimmer than I expected and looks kind of weird. I suspect I might not be looking at the visitor. Sure enough, a look through the finder confirms I'm looking at M31. So moving upstairs in Perseus at the zenith, there he is, a good magnitude or so brighter. The main thing I'm trying to see is the tail so I try using averted vision and moving the scope back and forth. Well I'm not sure but maybe I might have seen a little of the tail, perhaps. When I got here to make my report I see the picture above that Joe posted from Dennis, and yeah, that's what it looked like, more of just a little brightening to one side,kind of.
Before my toes freeze I take a look at Saturn. Can't see anything happening on Titan so I just focus in on Saturn at 300x and for the first time I can see the Cassini division and some very faint banding on the planet, so cool.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Tim,

Thx for the report, but you didn't mention what scope or the magnifications you were using. Glad you viewed it.

Saturn is certainly great about now, just past prime opposition and rings tilted our way...it's a sight not to be missed.

When it gets a bit warmer this week, (25 degrees...geesh!), I will do a serious session on Macholz.

Should be fun!

[stargazer]

The phone rings, its 10:30 P.M. I get all bundled up with 5 layers of cloths and its 4º outside with a bone chilling wind chill. But I get my butt over to my teachers house and there in the driveway sits the 18" all ready for some viewing. Cant wait to look at the stars again. We start out with some excellent close ups of the Moon. Always an awesome sight, and then on to Comet Machholz. Tail and all were there for us to see. What a sight through the Scope. The tail was split in two still and on the wispy side but if you looked hard enough you could see it. Then it was on to Orion, looking just as pretty as ever. Cought all the stars in the trapazium for the first time I really had no problem seeing them. We didnt stay long because we had Cj with us and my left eye which is my viewing eye was hurting really bad. Time to rest it before the trip. But it was worth the trip going out there for it.

I dont know who else has seen the tail but if you can catch it - do it is worth the sight. This is the first one I have seen a split tail.

Becky

[stargazer]

I know seeing the comet from our skies is fun and thrilling but to see it from Fla was so much better. I really enjoyed talking to Mr. Machholz and getting helpful hints from him and then seeing the Comet in an 18" scope just really made it all that much better. The tail was still split and was easy to see both of them was so cool. I was able to study how it looked and see all the wonderful detail it had to offer. It was the first time I was able to really see any form of a nucules. (other then a bright ball) I will admit seeing it from really dark skies was so much better. And better yet not freezing to bad was better still. I hope we can see more of Mr.Machholz Comets in the near future.

Becky

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

I think that's quite cool to have Don along side while observing his Comet. Did you manage to roll video on that session?

Big skeeters?

[stargazer]

yes I did get some video of his comet. I am going to work on the film then send Don a copy and post one here. I have all the pics in the puter now so once they are shrunk down I will post them.

Becky

[timothy]

OK now I'm convinced I have seen the big spread out part of the tail. Which part is that?