Me and the Swan

[WCGucfa]

Hello everyone,
Sorry I couldn't make Rehoboth Skies but my daughter was feeling ill.
Thanks to Pete's observing list I was encouraged to try and find comet C/2006 M4 Swan just after sunset. This would be my only observing tonight. Skymap Pro said it would be around 7.9 mag. I popped out a map and was ready to hunt.
I really didn't have my hopes up as the comet was imbedded in my most light polluted sky, the west. At around 19:00 it was about 27 degrees high and falling rapidly to the northwest. The temperature was just under 50 degrees F.
My western sky naked eye mag. is 3.5 thanks to Providence and everything in between. The good thing is the sky is pretty wide open.
Before lugging my old but wonderful 10" Starfinder Dob out I decided to scan for the comet with my 8X40 (nine degree field) wide angle binocs.
Patience is a must under these conditions so I searched for about 20 minutes before I saw something I couldn't focus into a definite star.
This was enough to start dragging everything out of the cellar.
After the scope was loaded with an Orion 35mm Ultrascopic I looked again with the binoculars and the tiny fuzzball I had seen before was still there. I had trouble finding the field in the telescope because it's hard to starhop in a brightly lit sky as most of us know. Then a bunch of clouds started coming in from the west and the wind was kicking up to 12 to 15 mph. I used some scud clouds passing my suspected comet to match the field in my 9X50 finderscope and sure enough there was Swan next to a 6th mag. star, looking like a bright 7th mag. globular cluster! It looked much brighter than I expected with a greenish tinge to it. I really didn't expect to find it before the clouds rolled over. I ended up having a good fifteen minute look.
Conclusions and thoughts: I never tire at finding a new comet and I'm glad I didn't give up too soon. Sometimes clouds CAN be our friends(HA)! Comets are my favorites. I think I'll start collecting them in the same manner as Pete does with his asteroids.

Keep looking up!

Bill Gucfa

[Pete]

Nice work Bill. Hope your daughter is feeling better today. I was looking forward to viewing C/2006 M4 Swan until my own scope crapped the bed on me. Unlike your Dob, having a computerized scope is a love-hate relationship.

I'm glad someone in the club got to see the "Green Comet".

Pete

[Mark G]

Bill,

I also missed you last night. I hope your daughter is feeling better today. I had a look last night at comet Faye in Bob's 15" & Paul's 10" Dob's. I was surprised to see a tail. I can't say I saw any green color though as I was not dark adapted when I was looking. I had been in & out of the museum all evening.

Antares sells an 7x 50 mm RACI finder scope that accept the Antares 1.25" 27 mm Kelner x-hair. I'll have try my 7x 50 mm with a 1.25" light pollution filter and see how that works. I'll let you know how it turns out. Maybe it's a solution for you looking into your western skies a little easier...

[WCGucfa]

Pete and Mark,

Thanks for the kind thoughts. Lily's fever has broken and she is doing just fine. Ruth noticed a couple of mosquito bites on her arm and leg and thought she might have EEE!! That got me going as the snowball of irrational fear grew to great proportions.
As for the comet I, of course, saw no tail due to the poor conditions in my western sky. My feeble mind never once thought a LP filter would improve my view. Thanks Mark. I need one for a 1.25" and a 2" EP. Let me know what you have. I'm also looking for a screw-in focal reducer.
Work this week is going to be crazy with Mohegan Sun celebrating its 10th anniversary (I'm the only in-house photographer). Very little observing for me. I can't wait for November with the Leonids and Mercury transit. I've got to get back on the observing track!

Keep looking up!

Bill

[Dan Chieppa]

Bill,
Glad to read I'm not the only one who found Comet Swan. I'll post my observing notes shortly.
Clear skies,
Dan