I saw Comet ISON ... sorta

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
I finally got a crystal clear morning and went to a spot that had the tallest and clearest view of the eastern sky. Brought my 150-500mm, which isn't the brightest thing out there, nor the sharpest wide open, but this comet isn't the biggest. With the naked eye and even with binoculars there was nothing to be seen, but given that I was freezing my butt off in 23 degree weather, not to mention my fingers, I aimed in the general direction of where it was supposed to be and fired off a few frames. Focus isn't perfect, and at this focal length you get star movement at 5 seconds, but it's there.

That's Mercury on the left side and the comet in the upper right. The light on the horizon gives you an idea of why you can't see anything with the naked eye.

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This is the best I could do in terms of getting the tail to show. News is that the comet is showing signs of breaking up, so it may have been brighter in the last couple days. As my friend said, "Not exactly lighting up the night sky now, is it?!"

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Not stellar shots (pun intended), but at least it's evidence to support my numb fingers.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
what time was that at Jake, 5:00 am ish?? first of many i suspect

5:30-ish. It's getting closer to the sun, so contending with ambient light at sunrise is getting to be more problematic. If it doesn't bust up as it whips around the sun it should be visible earlier and longer as it gets higher in the sky on its way out.
 

BackdoorArts

Senior Member
Thanks. Hopefully this sucker survives the trip around the sun and we all get to see it on the flip side. If not, I'm thankful I actually busted the camera out, because I was seriously thinking about not even getting out of the car when I couldn't spot it with binoculars. If it wasn't for the star charts that told me where it was supposed to be I would have had no idea where to aim.
 
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