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(meteorobs) Comet HB Observation
-- [ From: Robert Lunsford * EMC.Ver #2.5.3 ] --
Keith Ewald and I drove to the local mountains to escape the coastal
clouds and light pollution. George Zay's observatory site at 3000 feet
was socked in with fog and drizzle so we were forced to proceed up the
mountain. The fog was very thick and traffic was crawling along on the
highway. My second site at 4000 feet was partly cloudy and still
unsatisfactory for observing. It cleared at the 4500 level but no
suitable sites were found. At 5000 we found a nice site off the road but
more fog was present. Finally, at 5500 feet we found a site off the road
leading to the Mt. Laguna observatory. There were a lot of trees but the
comet was high enough for observing. The comet was a splendid object
with a very bright coma and the familiar forked tail. The dust tail was
bright and wide and reached a length of 15 degrees to the naked eye. The
ion tail was narrower but longer and was estimated at 20 degrees.
Through binoculars, the ion tail was indeed split as described by George
Zay in his last message.The estimated magnitude of the comet was -1.0
with an obvious yellow hue.
We were armed with 7X35 and two pairs of 11X80 binoculars plus a 4 1/2
inch Celestron Comet Catcher. The best views were through the 7X35
binoculars with its 10 degree field. The larger binoculars provided a
little more detail but at a cost of more than half the field of view the
smaller binoculars provided. Surprisingly, the hoods were seen in the
Comet Catcher without difficulty. I took several photographs using 50mm
and 28mm lenses. I also brought along my Lumicon Deep Sky filter which
dimmed the coma and dust tail but did not affect (and may have slightly
improved) the view of the ion tail.
Halfway through the session we heard someone walking toward us. We could
not see a thing so we shone the flashlight at the ground only to see a
raccoon trying to check us out. The light did not scare it away so we
went about about our business tolerating each others presence.
It was a worthwhile trip of over 100 miles and hopefully the weather
will allow me several more treks to the mountains before the comet fades
.
Bob Lunsford