Comet, I think

Hi, absolute beginner here. I think I was looking at the comet. Only had an old cheap pair of binoculars which I couldn't see through properly as it was so cold and shaking prevented a good view, and everything was blurred anyway. Probably cos' they are so cheap. Anyway, I assume it's the bright star down and to the right of Orion?

Hi, absolute beginner here. I think I was looking at the comet. Only had an old cheap pair of binoculars which I couldn't see through properly as it was so cold and shaking prevented a good view, and everything was blurred anyway. Probably cos' they are so cheap. Anyway, I assume it's the bright star down and to the right of Orion?

Hi Bill,

Welcome to IFAS! Yes, Comet Macholz is about 14 degrees southwest of Rigel at the moment and climbing.

Gordon

Thanks Gordon. looking forward to the arrival of my first telescope in the next 48 hrs and hope to get rather carried away with it all.

Hi, absolute beginner here. I think I was looking at the comet. Only had an old cheap pair of binoculars which I couldn't see through properly as it was so cold and shaking prevented a good view, and everything was blurred anyway. Probably cos' they are so cheap. Anyway, I assume it's the bright star down and to the right of Orion?

Firstly, welcome to IrishAstronomy.org, always nice to see more beginers finding this site.

Now, the comet is below Orion but I would certainly not describe it as a "bright star", when I looked at it earlier tonight through my 10x50 binoculars it looked like a very dim smudge.

Bart.

Now, the comet is below Orion but I would certainly not describe it as a "bright star", when I looked at it earlier tonight through my 10x50 binoculars it looked like a very dim smudge. Bart.

Yes, I agree. I went out to look at the comet with my 15x50 IS binoculars after posting my message and it appeared as a large almost circular hazy blob with a brighter nucleus. It's possible Bill is mistaking 53 ERidani (3.5 degrees to the east) or Gamma Eridani (6 degrees to the west) for Comet Macholz. I've posted a Starrynight Pro image of its position tonight (just slightly north of its position last night) to Files - www.irishastronomy.org/user_resources/fi...-Comet%20Macholz.jpg . I would have included it in this message if I could figure out how.

Gordon

Gordon,
Copy the url to the message body and highlight it. Then, instead of clicking on the "URL" button, click on "Img"
And, while I'm at it, try not to put a fullstop at the end of the url!
It's a very easy mistake to make, which is why I ALWAYS have to edit my own posts two or three times to correct little things like this.


Clear skies,