Machholz with NexStar 11 GPS & Nikon D70

I haven't had a chance to do any observing since my (failed) effort to get photos of the aurora last Friday night. Anyone seen Machholz in the last week? It is fading or has it changed much??

Is this comet going to be a periodical one, or get swallowed by the sun?

nope, it's a long-period comet -- roughly 119,000 years! Anyway, you young fellas will still be around when it next comes back

atb,

John

Anyone seen Machholz in the last week? It is fading or has it changed much??

Saw it on sunday night. Still easy in binoculars 10x50. Could not see much more through the telescope (Jim Savage's 8" LX200). There was no sign of a tail but it would not be seen it anyway with the nearly full Moon.

Michael Scully KAC/SAC

Anthony

Your L shaped stars are caused by your scope not being collimated. SCTs have noticable field curvature which is exagerated by lack of collimation. try this....

10mm e/p defocus star make sure that the doughnut shape is concentric. if not adjust.

5mm e/p (or 10mm with barlow) do the same check

now focus the star - it should seem to fall into a point

focus thro and come back again the same thing should happen from the other side.

repeat the last 2 steps until focusing is concentric. these last 2 steps require progressively smaller tweeks of the collimation screws.

The last 2 steps take the longest but it's woth it. It's the method I use for hi-res planetary stuff and i do it before each avi especially if I have to move the scope as SCT mirrors can go out so easily.

hope this helps

DaveG