Neat stuff. Please post the appropriate URLs when you have them so those of us stuck on the mainland can watch over your shoulder. I just hope the media doesn't hype this too much. I'm already seeing reports of "dramatic" brightening being forecast after the impact. Those of us here on Utah Astronomy know that a 2 or 3 magnitude brightening from 9 to 7 or 6 is going to be readily apparent in CCD images but I fear the public will be expecting a much brighter display. That, of course, will lead to more references to astronomers not knowing what they're talking about. Patrick Rob Ratkowski wrote:
I'm involved w/ the NASA Outreach Program and have opted to be at our local community college where we'll have a near real time link to the 2 meter Faulkes scope here on Haleakala and a web link to a scope on Mauna Kea. We'll also be video linked w/ students in Iceland and the UK that have been involved in this project. We'll also have some astronomers from IfA along as well as several scopes set up so the public can actually see the comet as it actually is. Our biggest challenge is to get the campus lighting shut down by the Ka Lama building and around the area where the scopes are located. Not knowing how the impact will pan out, I'm guessing w/ a big scope we have a better chance of seeing the event than hoping to see an outcome. Either way, it will be good to provide some of Maui's citizens with an exciting view to an exciting project.