Bright New Comet Visible NOW!

Wow... I never knew comets made such clean straight orbits and such precise sharp turns.

I almost forgot about it last night but when I remembered I looked out and BOOM there she was. Like she was chasing after Mama Sun, "Wait for me! Wait for meeee!"

Originally posted by apc
Wow... I never knew comets made such clean straight orbits and such precise sharp turns.

Hey it's NASA we're talking about here...

Buck the trend my friend

All the best,

NeoN HaZe.

Argggh!

This is driving me nuts.
I was really ready today, to take some pics. Then..Friggin clouds..right on the horizon..

So now, I have a new plan:
Forget about the evening and morning shots.

I got ahold of some Glass from a welders mask, and mounted it on my Lens.
I'm going to try shooting it throughout the day., and over the weekend.

I am obsessed with getting at least one or two photos of this thing.

think it will work? welders glass..I took some test shots, Seems like it would.

Man, you guys are killin' me with all your "well, I happened to look up.... and there it was."

I packed up all my sky gear, and climbed to the highest point in town, on the way home from work,
to get a picture, only to see the clouds line up between
the horizon and Venus.

Froze my no Comet seeing Azz off, for an hour and a half, as the Sun dropped out of sight.
Clear sky everywhere, Except the Western Horizon.

"It's a conspiracy, I tells ya!!"

Calling for mostly cloudy in the Mid Atlantic for the next 3 days, so I guess I'm hosed.

Stupid Comet.

Good luck space', I guess I'm out of the running.

Anybody read anything on the the return trip viewability?

Originally posted by Jbird


"It's a conspiracy, I tells ya!!"

Thats how I feel.
We're kind of in a bowl, with mountains all around..
So I had to find places up high. Thats where I saw the thing yesterday,
when I DID NOT, have my camera..I believe possesion of a camera causes some sort of cometary blindness!

So what do you think about using a welding glass as a filter Jbird?
I am able to see the clouds, and the Sun all in frame, and pretty sharp.
the Sun isn;t overpowering the clouds too much..Think I stand a chance?

If so, that gives me a lot more opportunities!

Originally posted by spacedoubt

So I had to find places up high. Thats where I saw the thing yesterday,

Dang it, space'

- And Another , "oh just happened to look up.." story.

(I had to go back to find your Update, didn't know you'd seen it.)

So what do you think about using a welding glass as a filter Jbird?
I am able to see the clouds, and the Sun all in frame, and pretty sharp.
the Sun isn;t overpowering the clouds too much..Think I stand a chance?

Don't have any professional expertise, on cameras or lenses,
except to say be VERY careful when filming the Sun.

I guess a digital, with a viewscreen, would be safe, as you're not actually
receiving the light directly to your eye. (in the event of a mishap)

It's an interesting question whether the welders glass would allow you
to see the comet.

I had a Sun filter for my cheapo 'scope, when I was a kid ,
but can't recall any specifics, now.

Worth a try, as long as you're safe, I'd say.

Well, here is a test image.
So the theory is workable.
Let's see if I am smart enough to get the exposure settings right.




[edit on 11-1-2007 by spacedoubt]

Is that it in the middle of your test picture Space? If it is, good thinking with the welder's glass.

Coast to Coast guest tonight to speak of comet.

Heads up for anyone who wishes to listen.

Originally posted by Griff
Is that it in the middle of your test picture Space? If it is, good thinking with the welder's glass.

You know, I'm not really sure..there were so many scattered clouds it could be anything. I took a lot of test shots..I'll go thru them all to see if it's consistently there.

I'm guessing camera artifact. Notice the similar (orange) color in the right foreground.

And too round to be a cloud.

If that's the Comet , it's much bigger than I imagined.

Although it does seem to be in the correct configuration,
'trailing' the Sun, to the North.

Find any clues , space' ?

[edit on 12-1-2007 by Jbird]

This is the brightest comet in 30 years and we just find out about it now.

It is gigantic. Its been sitting plainly in sight. It was just discovered. This gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling.

I hope it doesnt have our name on it.

These aren't the best pictures you'll find of it on the internet, but they're the best I managed Taken on Wednesday evening about 17.00z in Worcestershire, England:-





There's only a couple more days left for us to see it in the N Hemisphere - good luck to those still looking. Believe me it's well worth the effort!

Check this 48hr cam out.


www.space.com...

Essan,

Those are beautiful pics!
Great composiition too.
Nice job!

LOOK! IT'S A BIRD! NO IT'S A PLANE! NO IT'S JESUS MANNN! LOL

Nice Pics Essan I havent managed to see anything yet with all the cloud! I also noticed something on your second photograph (the zoomed one) go left 2 inches and then up 2 inches and theres what looks like a cigar shape lol although it could be anything!

Originally posted by spacedoubt
Well, here is a test image.
So the theory is workable.
Let's see if I am smart enough to get the exposure settings right.

I think this would work best if you used something over the welders glass to occult the sun - like they do with the SOHO images. A sticky label or a blob of paint or whatever. That way you can adjust the aperture for the lower light in the rest of the image.

Well, it's going to be cloudy and rainy for the next week or so. I think my comet viewing days are coming to an end. I'm glad that we got a few good sunsets in so I (and my family) could see it. NICE!

Originally posted by mythatsabigprobe

Originally posted by spacedoubt
Well, here is a test image.
So the theory is workable.
Let's see if I am smart enough to get the exposure settings right.

I think this would work best if you used something over the welders glass to occult the sun - like they do with the SOHO images. A sticky label or a blob of paint or whatever. That way you can adjust the aperture for the lower light in the rest of the image.

You are reading my mind!
I was experimenting with different sizes of Sharpie dots, hand drawn onto the
glass. I'm an obessed geek..LOL