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*Circumpolar Comet:
It's not over 'til it's over...there is yet another update on this comet via spaceweather.com. Machholz is currently so close to Polaris that is visible all night long. The sky map provided at their site is the same as the one I posted on January 31 (just a couple of posts above this one).
An unmarked photo of Machholz "caught up" with star trails is currently hosted at the spaceweather.com home page, but of course it is updated and archived daily. *--The challenge--* is to pick out the glow of Machholz's time-lapse "trail" from that of stars (I couldn't).
I clicked on the photo, hoping to separate it from the "answer" (marked) photo and post them separately; no luck.
Heres]http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/11feb05/westlake1_key.jpg]Here's the photo WITH Machholz pointed out.
Taken by Jimmy Westlake in Colorado:
Physics professor Jimmy Westlake took the picture on February 9th. "After a one-hour exposure, I covered the lens for 3 minutes and opened the aperture for a final 30-second shot," says Westlake. This creates the effect of star trails punctuated by the stars themselves.
"The volcanic rocks called the Yampa Buttes are silhouetted against the lights of the little town of Phippsburg, Colorado, in the distance. The 'W' of Cassiopeia is visible in the left side of the photo; Polaris marks the bulls eye at top right."
--Cindy
We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...
--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)
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*Perhaps the "last hurrah" --
And for those in the north, Comet Machholz is still putting on a wonderful display as it has become a circumpolar object. Before (the moon) decides to light up the night sky, try looking east of Gamma Cepheus. By this time, the "Magnificent Machholz" with be approaching magnitude 6, but it will still be a great object even for small binoculars!
That from universetoday's weekly "roundup." Machholz is dimming now. We might be out of town for an evening, this weekend -- in a smaller town with less light pollution. I may take my hubby's binoculars with us, give the comet one final view.
--Cindy
We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...
--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)
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http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/ob … p]Machholz plowing past Polaris
*Includes a sky map (north is down in the map; i.e. the Little Dipper currently appears in the sky to be hanging down from Polaris as a pivot point).
It'll remain in the circumpolar region until April, and will dim to magnitude 9. "It should remain visible in a telescope until May."
Page 2 gives info from now until May; looks like Machholz will be in Ursa Major (of which the Big Dipper is an asterism) come May 10; the article indicates that's around the time it'll only be visible via telescope.
--Cindy
We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...
--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)
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http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/1 … y1.jpg]The Luck 'o the Irish with the green comet
*Update on Machholz. Is currently NE of Polaris. Invisible now to unaided eye, at magnitude 6 to 7.
The pic above (hosted by spaceweather.com, as is the sky map below) was taken by amateur astronomer Mike Holloway of Arkansas on March 10.
There's also a galaxy in the photo. Spaceweather.com is asking if folks can spot it; I did.
http://www.spaceweather.com/images2005/ … if]Current sky map
--Cindy
We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...
--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)
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http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/ob … p]Machholz on the wane
*The 2nd page in the link includes an ephemeris. In mid-March its magnitude was 6.5; by mid-May it'll cross the Big Dipper and diminish to a magnitude of 9.5.
Includes updated sky map.
The ephemeris certainly records the dimming of this pretty little comet as it treks further on and away.
--Cindy
We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...
--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)
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*First update regarding Machholz I've seen since the last post in this thread (from universetoday.com article):
If you haven't checked on Comet Machholz lately, try looking around eight degrees southeast of Gamma Ursae Majoris tonight. Having quietly faded to around magnitude 9, you still might be able to spot a slight tail. For a very accurate locator chart, use Heaven's Above and click on the appropriate link.
Will need a 'scope to see it now. Not sure ordinary binoculars will do the trick.
http://www.heavens-above.com/]Heavens Above link
--Cindy
We all know [i]those[/i] Venusians: Doing their hair in shock waves, smoking electrical coronas, wearing Van Allen belts and resting their tiny elbows on a Geiger counter...
--John Sladek (The New Apocrypha)
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![Heres]http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/11feb05/westlake1_key.jpg]Here's](http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2005/11feb05/westlake1_key.jpg){kind=link}
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