Comet McNaught Observing Report

Posted by Kelly Whitt Jan 10, 2007

January 10, 2007:

At approximately 5 pm local time, about 20 minutes after the Sun disappeared behind the horizon, Comet McNaught appeared just above and to the right of where the Sun had been.There were a few clouds stretching across the sky and the comet dodged in and out of one before settling into a relatively clear descent.

When I first saw Comet McNaught it was high enough to still be spotted in the light-blue sky. But it sank quickly. Within 20 minutes it was behind a tree and almost below the horizon. As it got a little darker it dropped down into the orange part of the sunset and then stayed with the orange glow until it was gone.

I did look at the comet through binoculars. It's head was brilliantly glowing white. A large tail stretched behind it for many degrees. The tail extended upward and slightly to the right, pointing away from the Sun. This was also visible without binoculars. Although it is a very bright comet, for anyone who didn't realize it was there, it would have been easy to miss in the sunset's glow. As it descended toward the horizon it moved lower and to the right. This motion is really that of the Earth spinning, rather than the motion attributed to the comet.

I have a standard digital camera and it was quite hard to get a good photo using it. I tried regular settings and saw that as it got darker I would definitely need to turn the flash off. But I had no place to steady my camera. So I did the best I could. For a picture I took of the comet, see the Comet McNaught article. I had better luck with the video camera. It could capture the scene much more easily and had a more powerful zoom. My husband was working and unable to get to see the comet, so I can play the video back for him and he can see the exact scene that we saw. My son and daughter both saw McNaught. I tried to explain to them that it was possible that it will be the brightest comet they'll ever see (although I hope not) but with the cold air and the glow of sunset it didn't excite them in quite the same way.

Keep looking over the next couple evenings and mornings until it disappears next to the Sun and leaves Northern Hemisphere observers for the South.