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Has anyone had a chance to observe comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova yet?

This evening after dusk I fired up the mobile comet observatory and sought out the perfect location to line up the comet in a gap between the trees. It was not bright enough to show up in the 50mm finderscope, so it took some scanning around with a low power EP (50x) to find it. I was able to find it eventually and get a good view. No sign of a tail for me, but the head was nice and fuzzy and comet-like.

The fabled MCO rides again! Good effort Andy!

Man, I give you credit Andy. I'd heard about this but written it off in my mind due to its low position and the general crappiness of the sky in that direction for me. Now that you've conquered it I have no choice. It's a quest now. Now where did I put that garden wagon?

Thanks for the heads-up Andy. I've a great comet viewing location at the end of Acre Avenue (just across the street viewing SW and west across 100 Acre Cove). Zero horizon helps when it's only 17° high. Our next forecast for a clear night is New Years day - Jan 1. Sunset's at 16:25 and I'm hoping to have a giant binocular setup by 17:00 on the crest overlooking the cove.

For some reason or other comets work really well in a binocular. Noticeably better than thru a larger aperture telescope for some reason. Traditionally I love viewing comets with a 15X70 but may haul a mount for the 25X100 or 28X110 down there depending upon energy level.

Anyone like to join me? I'll be posting on the observing invitation section.

Pete

I just found this article this morning about Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova which will be right next to the Moon on New Years Eve.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nati ... /95952054/

http://phys.org/news/2016-11-comet-45ph ... ember.html

Setup the 28X110 binoc down over the cove and was blocked by some trees. Drove over to Walker Farm and setup before the 40-hour old rim of the moon disappeared below the low horizon. 45P is centered between Luna and Venus and a touch below. Easy locators. Transparent sky. But damned if I could spot it. Kudos to Andy. This one's a toughie. Won't attempt it on Sunday as originally planned.

Pete

CometLightning wrote:I just found this article this morning about Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova which will be right next to the Moon on New Years Eve.

Hello CometLightning, thanks for the links and welcome to the ASSNE bulletin board!

Since he didn't sign his post (*reminder*) and you all may be wondering who it is - Comet Lightning FYI is Daniel B.

RB

Here's a nice article about seeing comet 45/P Honda, and it includes a map for Feb/Mar mornings; http://cosmicpursuits.com/1403/a-guide- ... jdusakova/

Thanks for posting, Mike. I especially liked the Inspiring story about Honda himself.

Tom