Comet Swan and M13

[Dan Chieppa]

Greetings,
Tonight was the first chance I've had to try and find Comet Swan again. I've seen it twice before but tonight looked good as the sky cleared nicely and the wind dropped off.
I set up my 80mm Nighthawk and was ready to observe by 5:30PM. I started my search with 12x50 binoculars. I knew from sky charts the comet would be in the constellation Hercules, just didn't know exactly where. I found M13 easily and started sweeping the sky. I found Comet Swan within about 60 seconds. It was located between two of the stars that make up the trapezoid, Epsilon and Zeta. To me it appeared brighter than M13. Keep in mind I'm observing from New Bedford and I have street lights and porch lights to pollute the night sky. Once I got my bearings I switched to my 80mm and a 2-inch 32mm EP. I could see one object at a time, not both. Time to break out the 2-inch 52mm. Now I could see both objects in the same FOV. Each object was at the extreme edge but I could see them both. I love these Antares ER eyepieces. (Thanks Mark.)
I decided it was worth trying to photograph Swan and maybe even getting M13 in a photo or two. To make a long story short, after 92 photos I packed it in at 7:30PM. I got one last treat at 7:28PM, a satellite passed just above Comet Swan on it's way north.
When I checked the photos I found several that showed both the comet and M13. If it were a simple matter to post a photo with this message I would. Sadly, I don't know how to do it even though several of you have posted comments on how the process works. Until I can master the technique you'll have to ask to have a photo sent your way.
In visual observation of Comet Swan I did not see a tail or any color. The photo reveals a blue-green hue to the comet. I have plans to mount my camera onto my LXD75 and see what I can do with a little tracking. Exposures in the 8 to 10 second range result in trails as I found out tonight.
All-in-all I enjoyed seeing Comet Swan and M13 together. They made for a nice pairing. I hope some of you got a chance to see them together.
Clear skies,
Dan

[Pete]

Hi Dan,

To post a photo to the bulletin board first load the photo to ImageShack. This is a free photo hosting website. The Img function on our website doesn't work correctly but what you do is print the square parenthesus ([)(found next to the letter p on the keyboard) plus the letters img and then the square close parenthesus (]). Then input the link to your imageshack image. And finally print the [, the characters /img, and then the ].

I've posted my own observing notes on Swan under my original Swan posting.

But I'd really like to see your photos. If you can't manage it, email them to me and I'll post them to your report.

Pete

[Dan Chieppa]

Hi Pete,
I'll send you the photo of Swan and M13. Thanks for the help in getting it posted.
Clear skies,
Dan