The amount of ejecta is incredible!!! And the pictures returned by the impactor on the way in will make a great movie. Several of us have noticed a definate brightening of the comet but only by maybe one magniturde. When the impact was announced the crowd here at SPOC erupted into yells and applause. :-) Patrick ___________________________________ NOCC, http://nocc.sourceforge.net
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. How many folks were gathered at SPOC? Wish I could have joined y'all... ----- Original Message ----- From: <paw@trilobyte.net> To: <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Monday, July 04, 2005 12:15 AM Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Bulls Eye | The amount of ejecta is incredible!!! And the pictures returned by the impactor on the way in will make a great movie. | | Several of us have noticed a definate brightening of the comet but only by maybe one magniturde. | | When the impact was announced the crowd here at SPOC erupted into yells and applause. :-) | | Patrick | | ___________________________________ | NOCC, http://nocc.sourceforge.net | | | | _______________________________________________ | Utah-Astronomy mailing list | Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com | http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy | Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com | | ______________________________________________________________________ | This e-mail has been scanned by Cut.Net Managed Email Content Service, using Skeptic(tm) technology powered by MessageLabs. For more information on Cut.Nets Content Service, visit http://www.cut.net | ______________________________________________________________________ | |
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.
Many thanks to SLAS and all the individuals who helped put-on last night's "Wallop Watch" at SPOC. Patrick, Bruce, Mark, Ann, Siegfried (did I miss anyone?) WELL DONE! While the event through the eyepiece wasn't quite up to the advertising copy, the NASA TV views offered the best seat in the house, and the atmosphere was festive and thoroughly enjoyable. Patrick kept a countdown as the main event drew near. Even the weather gods smiled upon us- usually any astronomical event visible from Utah means complete overcast, but not last night. Thanks again, SLAS movers & shakers! __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
After checking a few Websites, it looks like the comet did in fact brighten quite a bit, much more than we noticed at the eyepiece- I think atmospheric extinction, as the comet dropped into the muck, robbed us of the full show. If anyone gets a good clear view tonight, please post your impressions (or images if possible). Thanks! ____________________________________________________ Yahoo! Sports Rekindle the Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com
Skies permitting, I will be observing tonight. At dark the field is still well above the haze and light pollution, so I hope to see the comet more distinctly. I'll let y'all know what I see. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chuck Hards" <chuckhards@yahoo.com> To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Monday, July 04, 2005 1:19 PM Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Bulls Eye | | After checking a few Websites, it looks like the comet | did in fact brighten quite a bit, much more than we | noticed at the eyepiece- I think atmospheric | extinction, as the comet dropped into the muck, robbed | us of the full show. If anyone gets a good clear view | tonight, please post your impressions (or images if | possible). | | Thanks! | | | | ____________________________________________________ | Yahoo! Sports | Rekindle the Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football | http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com | | _______________________________________________ | Utah-Astronomy mailing list | Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com | http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy | Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.utahastronomy.com | | ______________________________________________________________________ | This e-mail has been scanned by Cut.Net Managed Email Content Service, using Skeptic(tm) technology powered by MessageLabs. For more information on Cut.Nets Content Service, visit http://www.cut.net | ______________________________________________________________________ | |
Chuck Hards wrote:
After checking a few Websites, it looks like the comet did in fact brighten quite a bit, much more than we noticed at the eyepiece- I think atmospheric extinction, as the comet dropped into the muck, robbed us of the full show. If anyone gets a good clear view tonight, please post your impressions (or images if possible).
A few of us will be going back to SPOC tonight to see how it looks. I'm not advertising this to the public but subscribers to this list are certainly welcome to show up. FYIs: 1) Channel 4 taped a story at SPOC today on last night's events. It will air during the 5:30 and 10:00 news. 2) Jerry Foote emailed me an image her took last night that clearly shows the ejecta cloud. I'm working with him to get it on the web for all to see. 3) The contractor that will be putting up the walls on the Refractor House is at the site today and getting started. Patrick
Foote's image is posted on the SLAS website, under his name in the gallery. Patrick Wiggins <paw@trilobyte.net> wrote:2) Jerry Foote emailed me an image her took last night that clearly shows the ejecta cloud. I'm working with him to get it on the web for all to see. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
participants (5)
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Chuck Hards -
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