Comet Pan-STARRS Update!!!

Pan-STARRS from NJAA March 14th
March 14th was a cold, windy and night as Wayne P. and I stood on the roof of NJAA Observatory. Wayne arrived just before me, and was scanning the horizon for Comet Pan-STARRS. As expected with the weather in NJ, there would be limited chances to view Pan-STARRS in its prime. The comet would appear just 10 degrees the horizon around 7:30 pm just after sunset.

After 10 minutes of scanning the horizon, the comet was finally spotted just over a few degrees above the trees. As predicted, the only way to see the comet was to go on top of the roof of NJAA. Not the best idea, but the higher location of the roof gave us a clear view. A quick check from the parking lot proved that the comet could not be observed from the ground. The sky cleared completely just as predicted by the Clear Sky Clock and www.wunderground.com. Unfortunately the wind was a constant nuisance the entire time. The temperature dropped into the 20s that night, not what you would expect for the month of March.

Comet Pan-STARRS imaged from the roof of NJAA Observatory with Canon 50D and Canon 300 IS, 2.5 sec exposure. ISO 800

The comet was quite spectacular with a bright nucleus and sparkling short tail. Viewing the comet against a dark sky background would have greatly improved the view. But alas the comet's close proximity to the Sun meant viewing the comet against the sunset sky. Just past 8 pm the comet was starting to sink down towards the trees. Before we knew it, the comet was gone. I took a few pictures with my Canon 50D and 300mm lens set on a small portable tripod. Obviously my picture of the Pan-STARRS is not going to win any astrophotography awards. But atleast it did show up quite well in my images.

Pan-STARRS fragmenting ??
Interestingly, an amateur astronomer Peter Rosen has discovered possible fragmentation of comet Pan-STARRS. He took cod video images using a 10 Newtonian and Image Source camera. His image shows a small dot near the nucleus of the comet that follows along with it. This is in contrast to the background stars which do not follow along with the comets movement.
Click here to see Peter Rosen's images of possible Pan-STARRS fragmenting


Comet Pan-STARRS Wed. March 20th at 7:30 PM

Comet Pan-STARRS March 18-25th.
During this week the comet will start to become slightly higher in the sky, but harder to view. On March Wed March 20th, the comet will be 14 degrees above the horizon.
Unfortunately, the comet is expected to fade. Secondly the Moon is going to become increasingly brighter each day as it heads towards full Moon on the 27th. Still, my gut feeling is that the effect of the Moon may be minimal. Right now Pan-STARRS is a sunset comet. Hence the added light from the Moon may be nothing compared to the brightness of the sunset sky. The greatest concern is how much the comet will fade. Luckily for us, there are some reports that the comet have become brighter than previously expected. Some estimates have placed it at magnitude 0.5 Mag!
If that is true, the comet may be brighter this week, than previously expected!

NASA has produced an excellent video about Pan-STARRS called "Sunset Comet"
Click here to watch Sunset Comet Video

Words of Wisdom!
Watch the weather forecast obsessively.
Keep a pair of binoculars handy and ready to go.
If the weather clears around sunset, find a good view of the western horizon
and start scanning around 7:30 pm.


William Anthony
NJAA Research Group Chair

Comet PannStarrs Aproaches!

For Northern Hemisphere observers the week of March 10-16 will be the best time to view Comet Pann-Starrs (C/2011 L4).
Southern observers have already been enjoying the comet which is expected to brighten to 2nd magnitude. This makes the comet a respectable object that can easily be viewed low over the western horizon just after sunset. The comet should be easy to view with a pair of binoculars and maybe even by eye. Of course this all depends on how significant your local light pollution is. But from a good site, the comet should be easy observe and to photograph.

Pann-Starrs March 13th, at 7:30 PM EST just 10 degrees above horizon

Spaceweather.com contains a good selection of recent news related to Pann-Starrs. The photo gallery on the site also contains many images from astrophotographers too.

www.spaceweather.com

The greatest challenge to viewing comet Pann-Starrs is its low elevation on the horizon. From NJ, by 7:30 pm, the comet will only be 10 degrees above the western horizon. Therefore it is important to have a clear view to the West and to start looking for the comet right after sunset. Binoculars are perfect for viewing the comet. Be warned that some telescopes will not be able to view that low. For example my 12” scope dobsonian can not slew to an object only 10 degrees above the horizon. But widefield scopes are what you want for viewing the comet and its tail. The larger the field of view the better.

Pann-Starrs Saturday March 16th, about 10 degrees above the horizon at 7:40 EST.


Timeline:

March 10th the comet makes its closest approach to the Sun. The comet is 0.3 AU from the Sun.

March 12th-13th, the comet reappears in the western sky after Sunset. Hopefully the comet will peak at 2nd Magnitude.

March 12th-17th the comet is well placed low on the western horizon after sunset.

During this time the comet is heading out of the inner solar-system.

March 17th- 30th the comet is still low on the horizon, but rapidly fades with each passing day. The Moon also starts to interfere with viewing the comet.

Comet Pann-Starrs location in the solar system on March 16th.

Unfortunately, the comet does not climb much higher in the evening sky until weeks later as it heads towards the constellation Ursa Minor (Little Dipper). By this time, the comet will be very faint and require a large telescope to view.

Therefore the best views will be the week of March 12th – 17th. The weather in New Jersey this year has been atrocious. But there have been numerous days when the sky is clear to partly cloudy around sunset. This is followed by completely overcast skies. But it is worth going out with binoculars on these days to look for the comet just after sunset. Hopefully we will be able to spot this inter-wanderer as it makes its trip through the solar system. This is also a good warm-up for comet ISON later this year. ISON is expected to be a spectacular comet and there is even a chance it will be visible during the day!

Note* All images prepared using the Orion Starseek APP for ipad and iphone