Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 C, 2006/4/18 UT

[Dave Mitsky]

I finally had the opportunity to observe the C fragment of the periodic comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 on Monday night using the ASH 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain at 162, 202, and 259x and the 5" f/5 finder scope at 32 and 71x. I first saw the eighth magnitude comet fragment at approximately 2:00 UT (10:00 p.m. EDT). Although it was still rather low in the sky and the transparency was mediocre, C was rather easy to see (pun intended). Its coma was somewhat small and a short, fan-shaped tail was visible.

http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets/73P.gif

Dave Mitsky

[njnightsky]

Still waiting for the chance to get out and see this one.

[Elder]

Captured weather images of anomolies that MAY be fragments from comet 73P Schwassmann- Wachmann:

http://www.rangeguide.net/ufo.htm

[antoniseb]

Elder, you both of your posts have been short posts with links to your site. Please don't use our forum for this purpose.

[aurora]

Captured weather images of anomolies that MAY be fragments from comet 73P Schwassmann- Wachmann:

Uh, huh. Sure you did.

[aurora]

I saw the C fragment last night through a 10 inch telescope. It was faint due to hazy skies, but it had a nice small tail.

[redshifter]

I saw it as well last night! We've finally got a few days of clear skies. We had fairly good seeing, and the tail was surprisingly long through my 10" Orion dob and 17mm eyepiece (Vixen Lanthanum wide).

[onglipo]

Hi,
Any suggestions on viewing times and where to look with a small telescope?
Thanks for the help
-ongs

[aurora]

Hi,
Any suggestions on viewing times and where to look with a small telescope?
Thanks for the help
-ongs

See http://www.spaceweather.com/
and scroll down to the section on the comet and look for the link to the sky map.

Somewhat surprisingly, it doesn't matter much where you are on earth...

[Fr. Wayne]

Great report Dave. here's a different source too> http://www.heavens-above.com/comet.a...l+House&TZ=CST

[Charlie in Dayton]

Segment C was actually easily visible Saturday nite thru a pair of 9x63 binoculars...and it's supposed to get even better...

[Wolverine]

I finally got my first observations in last night, after a long streak of purely uncooperative weather. Wish we didn't have a mostly-full Moon to contend with, but I reckon that's better than it being overcast.

Sky maps:

• May 11
• May 12
• May 13
• May 14

[Count Zero]

I just had a good look at Fragment C about an hour ago (11:00UT), using a 8" Celestrom Schmitt-Cassegrain with a 25mm eyepiece. It was surprisingly faint, but that may be because the Moon was washing it out. Because it's passing through Cygnus, the Milky Way provided a very pretty backdrop of stars. Against this, the comets motion was readily detectable after less than 5 minutes!

According to heavens-above.com, range was 0.0787AU. I wish they had mentioned where to find other fragments. I wound up getting that information from Sky & Telescope's site, but by that time morning twilight was upon me, and the 'scope was starting to dew-up. I managed to have a quick look at nearby Albireo before calling it quits. That blue & gold doublestar is one of my favorite sights.

Cheers,
Rick

[Fr. Wayne]

I'm very impressed with Swift too. "Swift is the first observatory to simultaneously observe the comet in both ultraviolet light and X-rays. This cross comparison is crucial for testing theories about comets." from
http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=19824

[Count Zero]

Saw fragment C again Saturday morning at ~10:30UT. Though it was full moon, the humidity was down a bit, so the sky wasn't quite as washed-out. This time I was able to make initial detection with binoculars, then find it with the 8". The comet seemed fainter than M13 (straight overhead), but brighter than M31 (which was only ~20 degrees above the horizon - i.e. "down in the muck"). As it left Cygnus, there weren't as many backround stars against which I could measure its motion.

[Fr. Wayne]

Since comet is racing through Pegasus toward the dawn horizon, I will be concentrating on Canes Venatici for slow moving cosmic debris. I wouldn't be surprised if some trails appear jagged due to their speed and relatively quick burn.

[Fr. Wayne]

May 22 2:00 hr - 5:00 hr UTC: Meteor report from Oak Forest, IL. No trails observed from radius of Canes Venatici- but 4 (including one long trail- 3 sec. duration) were observed - these four all appeared to radiate from Ophiuchids. Very clear night for a change. Area watched: Ursa Major.