2006-10-27

I first headed out with the 7x50 binoculars to see if I could find comet Swan again. As with my previous observation I managed to locate it with no trouble. Again, its appearance was that of a small fuzzy blob, not unlike a globular cluster. I was able to see it and M13 in the same binocular field and, as before, the comet looked brighter.

At 19:24 UT I put both the 905 and the 130M outside to cool off.

By 19:43 UT I was all set up outside with both 'scopes. I found the comet in the 130M using the 32mm eyepiece and also in the 905 using the 25mm eyepiece. In the 130M I found that the best view was with averted vision. The coma looked quite large with a distinct bright spot in the middle. There was a hint of a tail visible. I could also see a hint of colour too, I could see what appeared to be a blue/green tint (I would have said slightly more blue than green).

I then switched to the 15mm eyepiece in the 130M. The view of the head of the comet was even better. The side of the coma on the opposite side to the tail appeared to have a slightly "squashed" appearance to it. The sight withstood direct vision, although averted vision was still better.

By 19:54 UT I noticed that the view appeared to be getting a little worse as the comet got lower in the sky (it was starting to look a little misty). Not wanting to miss my chance I put the 25mm eyepiece back in the 130M, grabbed my A5 sketch book and, between around 19:55 UT and 20:05 UT, I made the following sketch:

I did notice that, during the sketching process, the image carried on getting a little worse.

In the time between starting and finishing the sketch I'm pretty certain that I managed to detect movement in the position of the comet. I couldn't detect any sort of movement as I was viewing it but I'm sure that, as time went on, I could see that the position had shifted a little.

At 20:16 UT I had a look, via the 130M, with the 10mm eyepiece. The nucleus seemed to be very bright and distinct within the coma. The while view nicely withstood direct vision.

By 20:21 UT I was sure that more movement was visible since finishing my sketch. Comparing what I could see now with what I had recorded with my sketch I was certain there was a difference.

At 20:24 UT I decided to take a short break to move some gear that I didn't need back into the office because everything was starting to get damp with dew. I came back at around 20:32 UT and noticed that the view of the comet had got even worse. At that point, having done everything I wanted to do, I called an end to the session.