March Comet

Comet PanSTARRS Update for March 13th and 14th

tcrass 0 Comments

I was able to catch a good glimpse of comet PanSTARRS (C/2011 L4) again this evening (March 13th).  Fortunately, it was a bit warmer, the wind was lighter and the sky was just a tad clearer.  The viewing didn't give quite the same level of awe as the comet being near the moon.  However, I still managed to get some post worthy pictures of it.

Again, the comet was NOT visible to the naked eye from where I was viewing even with a reasonably clear sky.  It was not dark at the time so in a very dark location it just might be visible but even in that scenario, the comet is extremely small in the night sky so will probably only show up as a fuzzy pin-prick in the fabric of it all.

On March 14th, if you're up for it with binoculars or a telescope (or decent camera) you should be able to catch it around 10 degrees above the horizon almost due West for the next several nights.  Please see my former posts for details and charts of roughly where it will be located.

Comet PanSTARRS March 13th

 

Update on Comet PanSTARRS for March 13th

tcrass 0 Comments

This is an update for Comet PanSTARRS (C/2011 L4) for March 13th 2013.  The reason it's for the 13th is because observational opportunities have run their course (except for possibly Hawaii and Alaska).

So, tonight, March 12th we were able to see the comet in the low western sky.  However.  The comet was 'not' as bright or as large as I was anticipating.  Unfortunately it did require a telescope to view and a bit of guess work with the camera to get some exposures of it.

Fortunately, that work did pay of with a few decent shots (for nothing but a Nikon D80, tripod and 70-300mm lens).

PanSTARRS and Crescent Moon #1

Please have a look in the gallery for more images from the 12th.

The good news is that tonight we were able to view the comet for almost 45 minutes and I would expect that timeframe to only increase as it gets further from the Sun.  As for viewing the comet on March 13th through March 26th, I've included a path diagram below for easy identification.  Based on viewing tonight, you will probably need a set of binoculars or a very clear sky since the comet is somewhat dim.  However, you should still give this a shot since this comet only comes around once every 100 million years, this is literally a once in a million lifetime chance!

Feel free to check back for more information and pictures.  We'll be posting more as we take them!