Comet 2006 P1 (McNaught)

[Blob]

Comet 2006 P1 (McNaught) is now observable as a magnitude 5.7 fuzzy star in the constellation Aquila low in the morning sky, from the northern hemisphere .
The comet was discovered in August 21 2006 by Terry Lovejoy.
It will pass 0.17 A.U. from the sun on 12th January, and perhaps reach to magnitude 2.4. The comet will become observable in the Southern Hemisphere in late January.

Date    TT    R. A. (2000) Dec.     Delta      r     Elong.  Phase   m1

2007 01 05    18 59.50   -07 36.6    1.179    0.344    15.1    48.1   5.7
2007 01 10    19 31.41   -10 08.3    0.963    0.206    12.1    89.5   3.1
2007 01 15    20 10.21   -23 46.6    0.818    0.193     6.3   145.7   2.4
2007 01 20    20 34.69   -38 17.5    0.875    0.326    19.0    99.8   4.8
2007 01 25    20 51.57   -46 20.7    0.985    0.471    27.7    76.1   6.7
2007 01 30    21 05.96   -51 05.2    1.096    0.608    33.4    63.2   8.0

[Blob]

A newfound comet is about to loop around the sun and might offer skywatchers a rare and fantastic view. But comets are unpredictable, and this one has a wide range of possible outcomes, experts say.

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[jami cat]

I get to see Monday morn...

[jami cat]

Crappy cloudy weather for 3 days now here >:

At least SOHO will have it visable soon...

[Blob]

Hum,
indeed...

Recently, sky watchers in the Northern Hemisphere have been enjoying the sight of Comet McNaught in the twilight sky. Now, solar physicists using the ESA-NASA SOHO spacecraft are getting ready for their view. For four days in January, the comet will pass through SOHO's line of sight and could be the brightest comet SOHO has ever seen.
As Comet McNaught heads towards its closest approach to the Sun on 12 January 2007, it will disappear from view for earthbound observers, becoming lost in the Sun's glare. That's where SOHO comes in. Poised in space between the Earth and Sun, SOHO ceaselessly watches the Sun and objects that pass nearby.

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Credits: ESA, NASA SOHO/LASCO team

[Kullat Nunu]

Missed it!

It is too south to be visible anymore...

[John Kierein]

It's in the SOHO Lasco C3 coronagraph's FOV now! Advertised as brightest comet ever! See it in near real time here:

http://soho.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime-images.html

[Blob]

Hum,
The comet has also been imaged by the STEREO spacecraft.

But, here is a SOHO Lasco C3 i prepared earlier.

[tlbs101]

After several days with clouds on the horizon, I finally got to see it last night through some breaks in the clouds. Woo Hoo! It was magnificent!

I used binoculars, but I could also see it with my naked eyes.

I pointed it out to several neighbors, my wife, and our house guest -- everyone got to see it through the binoculars.

[mantiss]

Advertised as brightest comet ever!

Brightest ever seen by SOHO. That little satellite amazes Me daily, what an incredible piece of machinery.

[MAPNUT]

Will it be visible in the mornings after it passes the sun?

[mantiss]

Will it be visible in the mornings after it passes the sun?

If you live in the southern hemisphere, probably. Invisible from the north, unless you live near the equator

[mantiss]

Hum,
The comet has also been imaged by the STEREO spacecraft.

yes, a few beautiful shots here

[Amber Robot]

It's in the SOHO Lasco C3 coronagraph's FOV now! Advertised as brightest comet ever! See it in near real time here:

http://soho.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime-images.html

In fact, it is so bright that you can actually see an optical ghost start up in the bottom right corner as the comet enters the upper left corner!

[ciderman]

Overcast again.
Just like Halley's. <sniff>
& don't mention that blooming eclipse

(actually, I caught some blue sky in France for that, most impressive thing ever)

[StarHawk]

Does anyone know the actual size of McNaught? I've seen sizes from 300 meters to 5 miles.

[ArgoNavis]

A word from the discoverer...

http://msowww.anu.edu.au/~rmn/C2006P1.htm

[snabald]

Oh wow, I just realized I saw this a while back and thought it was a contrail reflecting sunlight.

[schlaugh]

In looking at the most recent movie from the LASCO instrument on SOHO, I see McNaught coming into view on the upper left side but I also see a cloud of material entering from the lower right and which I'm assuming is McNaught's tail.

I would have expected the tail to stream (more or less) directly away from the sun. And the trajectory of McNaught did not seem to take it near the LaGrange point where SOHO is stationed. So how is the tail appearing in SOHO's view?

http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/...nt_c3small.mpg

[Amber Robot]

In looking at the most recent movie from the LASCO instrument on SOHO, I see McNaught coming into view on the upper left side but I also see a cloud of material entering from the lower right and which I'm assuming is McNaught's tail.

As I mentioned in Post #14, what you see in the lower right is an optical ghost, kind of like a lens flare, created inside the optical system of the instrument because the comet is so bright. It is an artifact, not part of the comet itself.

[schlaugh]

Then that is one TANJ bright comet!

[Eroica]

If you live in the southern hemisphere, probably. Invisible from the north, unless you live near the equator

It has been spotted in broad daylight here in Dublin - not by me, though! David Moore, chairman of Astronomy Ireland, has spotted in 10x50 binoculars shortly before dusk.

Over the next week or so, it may be possible to see it from the northern hemisphere after dawn, if it remains very bright.

[Starboy]

Wonder if a CME will be assocciated with this comet?

[Kaptain K]

Why should it?

[frogesque]

For all the, 'electric universe/comets cause CMEs', believers look at the current KP index and GOES X-Ray data. During Comet McNaught's passage through perihelion they have been flat as a pancake - case dismissed!

6 Hour GOES X-Ray http://www.sec.noaa.gov/rt_plots/xray_1m.html

3 day Kp index http://www.sec.noaa.gov/rt_plots/kp_3d.html

Reports are also coming in that this comet is now a daytime object. Very close to the sun so take care when searching for it - especially if using binos - make sure the actual sun is shielded behind a building or hill etc.

I've been looking through a pair of eclipse glasses but conditions are poor with a lot of glare and I haven't spotted it.

[AK]

I got a crack at it the other night. Spectacular!

[Kiwi]

I got a great view tonight (it's now 12:13am 16 January NZDST), on the coast west of Palmerston North, New Zealand.

Went to an area clear of trees and sandhills at 9:15pm (8:15 UT 15 January) and soon found it in binoculars, just a few degrees above the southwest horizon -- it set at about 9:30. It was amazing to see it in the still-lit sky and through weak cloud. It was very bright compared with every other comet I've seen -- I could clearly see both the nucleus and tail in binoculars, but it was hard to see with the naked eye. Should improve the next few nights as it moves away from the sun.

[Peter Wilson]

In fact, it is so bright that you can actually see an optical ghost start up in the bottom right corner as the comet enters the upper left corner!

I thought it was another comet...

Can someone explain why the stars rotate in the image?

[ToSeek]

I thought it was another comet...

Can someone explain why the stars rotate in the image?

If the question is why the stars move across the field of view, it's because SOHO is orbiting the Sun, and the background view gradually changes as a result. It's the same reason that the summer constellations are different from the winter constellations here on Earth.

[John Kierein]

Some of the last images in SOHO LASCO C3 show a sunward spike like observed in Comet Kohoutek and others.

http://tinyurl.com/y9f48f

here's a good example. Others around this time also show it.
http://soho.nascom.nasa.gov/data/rea...15_1854_c3.gif