C/2014 E2 Jacques an Easy Beautiful Comet!

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WCGucfa
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C/2014 E2 Jacques an Easy Beautiful Comet!

Unread post by WCGucfa »

Comet Jacques has been hiding behind clouds for the past week. Reports said it was a must view.
I didn't mind not hunting it early on, as it was very low on the eastern horizon in bright twilight, meaning a
too early equipment setup, way, way out by the barn, in order to get over the trees.
Finally it had climbed much higher by Friday - Sat., the forecast was promising clear sky.
It was now or never if I wanted to catch Jacques while he shone at 10.7 magnitude. As usual, I nearly talked myself
out of getting up at 2 a.m.: The Moon is nearly full, I will set up for nothing, no one cares about Jacques, I'm afraid of the dark!
None of these worked this time, and in twenty minutes all systems were go! The host constellation, Perseus, was quickly rising.
An early Perseid said hello, then another. Oh yeah, I'm in the right place! Now to catch this baby before twilight mates with moonlight.
I raised my 8x40 WA binoculars where my homemade map directed me, and one of the brighter stars in the field looked more like a planetary
nebula. Hmmm, a five minute hunt? I'll take it! Smile, Jacques!

Bill Gucfa

8/9/2014. 03:31hours. DST. 43" unprocessed exposure, ISO 800. Antares 152mm refractor. Canon T1i. 40mmEP, afocal. actual mag.est. 7.5
Image
Last edited by WCGucfa on Thu Aug 28, 2014 12:53 pm, edited 6 times in total.
Comets:40, Best Meteor shwr: Leonids '01, Best Aurora:Oct. '03.
Total.Sol.Eclipse,7/10/72 from Nova Scotia.Annular Sol. Eclipse '94,
Trans.of Venus 2004&2012.,ShoeLevy crash into Jupiter '94.
4/25/66 fireball-9 mag.,SN2011fe,N2012aw,DelphN2013.
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Paul D
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Re: C/2014 E2 Jacques an Easy Beautiful Comet!

Unread post by Paul D »

Bill,

What can I say but thanks for making me drag my scope out at 2:30AM to hunt for this comet. It proved to be a challenge tonight because there was a ton of dew in the air. I let my scope cool down for 30 minutes and at 3AM I was out on my hunt.

I started with a pair of binos but the sky was so milky from the moon and dew that I couldn't find it. I tried with my 8x50 finderscope and same results. The finder chart I had put the comet pretty much right in between of Perseus and Auriga. So I went to the eyepiece using my Telrad as a general area guide. Started out with 25mm W70 Antares and scanned the area and NOTHING!!!! Ok Now I am getting frustrated because I know I am in the right area and if you were able to get it the night before there is no reason why I shouldn't tonight. Take a deep breath, grab the GSO 40MM put it in the scope, line up the telrad again and start my scan. Sky is gray but I am seeing pinpoint stars so I know I am ok. Started a search of the area and immediately I see a faint smudge. Ok now I get that warm feeling knowing that I found it. I look at my watch and mark the time of discovery at 3:17AM. Back to the 25mm and sure enough I am now logging yet another comet that I have hunted and found. I couldn't verify your estimation of the tail, it was just to milky up there tonight.
Paul...

16" f/5 Night Sky Truss (Midnight Mistress)
10" f/5 Home built Dob with Parks mirror.
Pre-Meade PST
Celestron Skymaster Binos 25-125x80
Meade Travelview Binos 10x50

See that 16" in the sleek black dress? She is all mine. :)
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WCGucfa
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Re: C/2014 E2 Jacques an Easy Beautiful Comet!

Unread post by WCGucfa »

Great work, Paul!
The person who coined the saying "no pain no gain" had to be a comet hunter!
As you know, even if I find it visually, I don't want to tell anyone unless I get an image as proof!
It must be something left over from my childhood! :lol:

Sorry you didn't have the same conditions as I did the night before (but that didn't get you to give up now, did it?).
Thanks for keeping me updated. I also got your email while I was in CT.

P.S. The "tail" I think I see going off to the 11:00 position is most likely my imagination. In long exposures on the web
it is very thin and needle-like.

BG
Comets:40, Best Meteor shwr: Leonids '01, Best Aurora:Oct. '03.
Total.Sol.Eclipse,7/10/72 from Nova Scotia.Annular Sol. Eclipse '94,
Trans.of Venus 2004&2012.,ShoeLevy crash into Jupiter '94.
4/25/66 fireball-9 mag.,SN2011fe,N2012aw,DelphN2013.
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AndyG
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Re: C/2014 E2 Jacques an Easy Beautiful Comet!

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Well done Bill and Paul. Great reports, thanks for posting!
Andy
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mrgizmo65
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Re: C/2014 E2 Jacques an Easy Beautiful Comet!

Unread post by mrgizmo65 »

Bill thank you for your poetic description of the adventure you traveled on and then shared it with us, Jaques was kind enough to smile for you!! :P :P :P
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WCGucfa
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Re: C/2014 E2 Jacques an Easy Beautiful Comet!

Unread post by WCGucfa »

Thanks guys! The best part is, Jacques may not dim much before next weekend and will be a lot higher.
It remains in the Perseus/Camelopardalis area, where the stars are familiar, and will be easy guiding lights.
If there's good transparancy, the near 62% waning moon shouldn't be much of a threat. But! As they say in
my hometown: YA NEVA NO! :roll:

Bill G.
Comets:40, Best Meteor shwr: Leonids '01, Best Aurora:Oct. '03.
Total.Sol.Eclipse,7/10/72 from Nova Scotia.Annular Sol. Eclipse '94,
Trans.of Venus 2004&2012.,ShoeLevy crash into Jupiter '94.
4/25/66 fireball-9 mag.,SN2011fe,N2012aw,DelphN2013.
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Paul D
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Re: C/2014 E2 Jacques an Easy Beautiful Comet!

Unread post by Paul D »

Hmmm what does one do when they are on vacation and they have a clear night? Well I setup my telescope and go observe. Ok actually I setup my telescope to observe my favorite object a comet called C/2014 E2 Jacques.

Looking at my charts on Sky Tools it shows that C/2014 E2 Jacques is not far at all from the bottom star in Cassiopeia. But the problem might be that its now in a very rich star field. While allowing the scope to cool I begin my search with my Meade 10x50 binoculars (Yes I do own a Meade product) in the general area where C/2014 E2 Jacques is suppose to be. Right away I notice something that could be the comet but because the field is so rich in stars it could just be a part of a cluster. At this point I want to say any new and old astronomers out there really need to take a peak at Cassiopeia in binoculars and telescopes. It is rich in star clusters and really an under looked constellation. I then turn back to the scope which should have cooled down by now. Looking into my finder scope I go back to the star field that I had spotted in the binoculars slip a Antares W70 25mm into the eyepiece and start my search of the area. The star clusters are bright and beautiful and I come across several on my search for C/2014 E2 Jacques. I find C/2014 E2 Jacques in no time at all right in the area. that I had spotted with the binoculars. It is still as bright and as defined as it was almost a week ago. Brightness and size has remained constant with no hint of a tail but for me any comet is still a great sight in the eyepiece.

I do have to say that these snowballs in space have to be my favorite objects and I will set my alarm clock to get up to observe these snowballs. Just knowing that they have existed since the creation of our solar system and that I might be looking at an object no one will ever see again or may not come around again for hundreds or thousands of years. The wonderful thing about comets is you never know how they will react, one day a simple comet, the next they have blossomed into a bright ball filling up the sky or dragging a tail that spans the sky. A comet like Holmes can make history in a matter of months by becoming the largest thing in the solar system yes larger than the sun.
Paul...

16" f/5 Night Sky Truss (Midnight Mistress)
10" f/5 Home built Dob with Parks mirror.
Pre-Meade PST
Celestron Skymaster Binos 25-125x80
Meade Travelview Binos 10x50

See that 16" in the sleek black dress? She is all mine. :)
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WCGucfa
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Re: C/2014 E2 Jacques an Easy Beautiful Comet!

Unread post by WCGucfa »

Hey Paul,

Great report! Congratulations on your second sighting of E2.
It IS a great comet, if just for the fact it indeed has held relative brightness and beautiful color.

Lately it seems its the quiet ones that yell the loudest! Did Jacques think it would actually get by US?
I'll get out to check on it the next time the clouds break.

Thanks for the observation details fellow snowball hunter.

Bill G.
Comets:40, Best Meteor shwr: Leonids '01, Best Aurora:Oct. '03.
Total.Sol.Eclipse,7/10/72 from Nova Scotia.Annular Sol. Eclipse '94,
Trans.of Venus 2004&2012.,ShoeLevy crash into Jupiter '94.
4/25/66 fireball-9 mag.,SN2011fe,N2012aw,DelphN2013.
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AndyG
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Re: C/2014 E2 Jacques an Easy Beautiful Comet!

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Great report, Paul.
Andy
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Apollo XX
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Re: C/2014 E2 Jacques an Easy Beautiful Comet!

Unread post by Apollo XX »

Thanks for bringing this to our attention guys! Jacques is very conveniently located at the moment, and I can't wait for the clouds to part and give it a go.

Mike
"The purpose of life is the investigation of the Sun, the Moon, and the heavens." - Anaxagoras
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