Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Mar 14, 2006 2:27:20 GMT -6
Fellow Chicago Astronomers and Adler Crew...
The early morning skies bring us a new target of interest to focus on. Discovered in January, Comet Pojmanski is promising to be a moderately bright object (Magnitude +5). Now showing a faint tail - it can be found just before sunrise. Comet Pojmanski is now a bright binocular object in the SE skies, about an hour and half before sunrise. Currently magnitude +6.0, it may become a naked eye object from a dark sky over the next few days. Be sure to catch it ASAP, as it will be lost to our skies by early March.
From Space.com:
"The comet is located in the zodiacal constellation of Capricornus, the Sea Goat. Beginning Feb. 27, skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere can try locating it, very low above the horizon, somewhat south of due east about 90 minutes before sunrise. You can use Venus as a guide on this morning: the comet will be situated roughly 7 degrees to the left and slightly below the brilliant planet (the width of your fist held at arm's length and projected against the sky is roughly equal to 10 degrees).
As viewed from midnorthern latitudes, Comet Pojmanski will be positioned a little higher above the horizon each morning at the start of morning twilight. While it's only 5 degrees high on Feb. 27, this quickly improves to 10 degrees by March 2; 16 degrees by March 5 and 22 degrees (more than "two fists" up from the horizon) by March 9.
The comet will passing closest to Earth on March 5, when it be 71.7 million miles (115.4 million kilometers) away.
In small telescopes the comet's gaseous head or "coma" should appear roughly 1/6 of the Moon's apparent diameter as seen from Earth (an actual linear diameter of 209,000 miles or 335,000 kilometers). It will also likely display a short, faint narrow tail composed chiefly of ionized gases."
Some helpful links:
www.aerith.net/comet/catalog/2006A1/2006A1.html
www.space.com/spacewatch/060224_night_sky.html
For those with an eastern vista, you are fortunate. My only real open sky at home is in an eastern direction, and I will attempt to catch this on the next few days.
I haven't seen a good comet in quite a while, let's hope for a good show.
And...
Mercury is putting on a good show now. Look for it 20 minutes after sunset, some 10 degrees above the western horizon. If you have trouble finding the planet with the naked-eye, binoculars might come in handy. Take slow sweeps, and eventually you should have it in your field of view. This week the planet shines at magnitude -0.7 and its disk is half-lit.
I observed it on a rather cold evening last week and the phase can clearly be seen. Hopefully the evenings of February 28th and March 1st will be clear, to catch the paring of the crescent Moon and the planet.
See soon.
Joseph Guzmán
The Chicago Astronomer
Administrator & Founder
www.chicagoastronomer.com
astronomer.proboards23.com
"We are all in the Gutter, but some of us are looking at the Stars"
Oscar Wilde -1854-1900
The early morning skies bring us a new target of interest to focus on. Discovered in January, Comet Pojmanski is promising to be a moderately bright object (Magnitude +5). Now showing a faint tail - it can be found just before sunrise. Comet Pojmanski is now a bright binocular object in the SE skies, about an hour and half before sunrise. Currently magnitude +6.0, it may become a naked eye object from a dark sky over the next few days. Be sure to catch it ASAP, as it will be lost to our skies by early March.
From Space.com:
"The comet is located in the zodiacal constellation of Capricornus, the Sea Goat. Beginning Feb. 27, skywatchers in the Northern Hemisphere can try locating it, very low above the horizon, somewhat south of due east about 90 minutes before sunrise. You can use Venus as a guide on this morning: the comet will be situated roughly 7 degrees to the left and slightly below the brilliant planet (the width of your fist held at arm's length and projected against the sky is roughly equal to 10 degrees).
As viewed from midnorthern latitudes, Comet Pojmanski will be positioned a little higher above the horizon each morning at the start of morning twilight. While it's only 5 degrees high on Feb. 27, this quickly improves to 10 degrees by March 2; 16 degrees by March 5 and 22 degrees (more than "two fists" up from the horizon) by March 9.
The comet will passing closest to Earth on March 5, when it be 71.7 million miles (115.4 million kilometers) away.
In small telescopes the comet's gaseous head or "coma" should appear roughly 1/6 of the Moon's apparent diameter as seen from Earth (an actual linear diameter of 209,000 miles or 335,000 kilometers). It will also likely display a short, faint narrow tail composed chiefly of ionized gases."
Some helpful links:
www.aerith.net/comet/catalog/2006A1/2006A1.html
www.space.com/spacewatch/060224_night_sky.html
For those with an eastern vista, you are fortunate. My only real open sky at home is in an eastern direction, and I will attempt to catch this on the next few days.
I haven't seen a good comet in quite a while, let's hope for a good show.
And...
Mercury is putting on a good show now. Look for it 20 minutes after sunset, some 10 degrees above the western horizon. If you have trouble finding the planet with the naked-eye, binoculars might come in handy. Take slow sweeps, and eventually you should have it in your field of view. This week the planet shines at magnitude -0.7 and its disk is half-lit.
I observed it on a rather cold evening last week and the phase can clearly be seen. Hopefully the evenings of February 28th and March 1st will be clear, to catch the paring of the crescent Moon and the planet.
See soon.
Joseph Guzmán
The Chicago Astronomer
Administrator & Founder
www.chicagoastronomer.com
astronomer.proboards23.com
"We are all in the Gutter, but some of us are looking at the Stars"
Oscar Wilde -1854-1900