Kim Hyatt wrote:
Beginning about 10:30 I periodically swept the area in the sky for the comet with my 10-inch F5 Newt at about 94 power but didn't pick up the comet. (Perhaps I should have used more magnification?) I watched NASA's coverage for a few minutes, then went out at about 12:15 and scanned that part of the sky again. This time I found a distinct non-stellar object in the correct position at the limits of visibility. By then, of course, Spica was getting very low in the West, into some moderate light pollution from town (Mt. Pleasant) and the smoky/hazy skies. I will verify the field tomorrow and compare to the same scene tomorrow night just after dark. All in all, a pretty cool event.
That was how it looked at SPOC. Certainly not bright but much brighter than before the impact. Before impact we had to use averted vision just to pull it out. After impact it was bright enough to be easily seen. Incredible. A few of us are going back tonight (Monday) and see how it looks then.
How many folks were gathered at SPOC?
I never did a head count, but at the time of impact the patio (where the monitor was set up) was packed so I'd guess at least 50 people. Patrick p.s. I had not planned on putting out News today but with all of the stuff on the web about Deep Impact I can't resist, so look for links to images in this morning's edition.