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C/2009 R1 McNaught - June 2010

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Author Topic: C/2009 R1 McNaught - June 2010  (Read 7508 times)
martinastro
Martin Mc Kenna
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« on: September 10, 2009, 10:30:22 pm »

A bit early to be discussing comets in 2010 but I think this is worthy of addressing just out of interest. Comet C/2009 R1 McNaught is predicted to reach mag +6.3 on June 13th 2010 in Perseus very close to where comet Holmes erupted. It's interesting to note the location and the time of year. Bright twilight will make this an unlikely faint naked eye object for us, however with good cameras, it might be an interesting target during the darkest period' of the night. The comet will be visible near, or within, any Noctilucent Cloud displays during that period!. I don't think I have ever seen an image of a comet within NLCs before so there looks to be fun and challening times ahead for astrophotographers and visual observers. Cerainly one to keep an eye on incase of an outburst.

During Sept and Oct 2010 103P/Hartley 2 is expected to reach mag +3.0 (other sources say mag +5.0) as a naked eye object high in the sky. So, two binocular/border line naked eye comets for next year. Perhaps it's an omen of a brighter comet for the same year which is just waiting to be discovered.
« Last Edit: September 10, 2009, 11:32:57 pm by martinastro » Report Spam   Logged

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« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2009, 11:12:55 pm »

Thanks for the heads up well in advance Martin, never too early to start thinking about it. I don't think I'll have the opportunity with the NLC's, but I''ll definitly have darker skies and less twilight being at a lower latitude. Looks like a nifty fiftyevent for me!
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martinastro
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« Reply #2 on: September 10, 2009, 11:37:13 pm »

I was thinking of you and Tyler when I wrote this  Smiley, you guys get the best view with a dark sky. I can see some interesting images on here next year!.

It will be amazing to see a comet and NLCs at the same time, a good telephoto shot (or the big fifty) would produce a nice capture, can you imagine glowing electric blue NLCs and a comet in the same frame - the connection is amazing since NLC dust particles may have come from comets in the first place.  2010 is looking to be an interesting year for astronomy so far.  Smiley
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martinastro
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« Reply #3 on: September 11, 2009, 12:37:16 pm »

Here's some more info...

http://remanzacco.blogspot.com/2009/09/new-comet-discovery-c2009-r1-mcnaught.html

R1 could reach mag +5.0 by the end of June but only 18 degrees from the Sun.
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Roman White
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« Reply #4 on: September 11, 2009, 07:43:49 pm »

Good news, gentlemen!  Smiley

And again Perseus!  Grin

I saw this comet yesterday, when it was announced as 9R7597B on NEOCP, although decided to wait until it gets a designation.

That's quite a nice comet, some people predict the maximum at +3...+4m. So let's hope... 
« Last Edit: September 11, 2009, 07:45:22 pm by Roman White » Report Spam   Logged

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« Reply #5 on: September 12, 2009, 08:47:48 am »

A bright comet would be nice for a change, we've got to be due one!  Smiley
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martinastro
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« Reply #6 on: May 06, 2010, 08:20:36 pm »

This comet still looks interesting, it's currently brighter than expected and could reach mag +3.0 in June, more optimistic sites are going for mag +2.0  Smiley, would be nice to get a bright comet near NLCs. It is a new Oort cloud comet though so it will be very unpredictable and could slow down it's rate of brightening at the crucial moment, fingers crossed it puts on a good show.
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martinastro
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« Reply #7 on: May 06, 2010, 08:23:21 pm »

Chart from Skyhound.com



It has been unobservable for a while, but now it is appearing in the morning sky. Now it is 10.0 mag, much brighter than originally expected (Apr. 25, Marco Goiato). It will approach to the sun down to 0.4 A.U. in July, and it is expected to reach up to 2-3 mag. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is observable only until June...Seiichi Yoshida



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« Reply #8 on: May 07, 2010, 07:42:30 am »

Thanks for the charts Martin Wink

Lets hope for clear skies and bright comets  Tongue
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« Reply #9 on: May 09, 2010, 03:49:25 pm »

This comet still looks interesting, it's currently brighter than expected and could reach mag +3.0 in June, more optimistic sites are going for mag +2.0  Smiley
Wow, that's very opitimistic.
Quote from: Alan Hale
A peak brightness between 3rd and 5th magnitude (more likely toward the fainter end of that range) can perhaps be expected.
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/comets-ml/message/16529
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martinastro
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« Reply #10 on: May 16, 2010, 03:14:08 pm »

Alan Hale reports the comet at mag +9.5 last week, it should be brightening rapidly now.
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martinastro
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« Reply #11 on: May 18, 2010, 04:33:31 pm »

Got a report sent to me from Australia, this morning R1 one was seen in 7x50 binos at mag +7.8
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« Reply #12 on: May 18, 2010, 07:31:59 pm »

Got a report sent to me from Australia, this morning R1 one was seen in 7x50 binos at mag +7.8

Thats good news its getting brighter.  For me though it needs to get to mag 6 before its worth getting the bins out, what with all my light pollution and the brightening twilight arch that we have at the moment.   If we're really unlucky it could be completely washed out bt NLC  Tongue
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martinastro
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« Reply #13 on: May 21, 2010, 09:26:25 pm »

From Sky & Tel...

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/highlights/94277259.html

We rarely see a good comet when it's at its best. Most comets are brightest when nearest the Sun - just when they’re most likely to be hidden in the Sun’s glare or below the sunrise or sunset horizon. That's the situation this spring with Comet C/2009 R1 (McNaught). Even so, observers in the Northern Hemisphere should be able to pick it up with telescopes, and possibly binoculars, just before dawn for at least part of June, during its run up in brightness. And in fact, the comet is turning out to be 1 or 2 magnitudes brighter that we predicted in the June Sky & Telescope (page 60). Let's hope this behavior keeps up!

Comet Timetable

As of mid-May the comet was about magnitude 8.5 (compared to the 10 we originally predicted), as it rose about an hour before the start of astronomical twilight for mid-northern observers. Throughout this apparition it will be low in the east or northeast when dawn begins to brighten. May 31st will find McNaught, now hopefully 6th or 7th magnitude, passing 2½° southeast of the 2nd-magnitude star Beta Andromedae. At the beginning of astronomical twilight it’s a respectable 20° up as seen by observers at 40° north latitude. But the waning gibbous Moon will brighten the sky.

On the morning of June 5th the comet skims just north of the large, loose open cluster NGC 752. On June 6th and 7th it’s within about 2° of the 2nd-magnitude double star Gamma Andromedae. The Moon is much thinner then, but also closer to the comet. Mid-June is when Comet McNaught should be most interesting, offering the best compromise between its increasing brightness and its decreasing altitude at the start of dawn. Moreover, the sky will be free of moonlight.

The helpful conjunctions continue as the comet passes about 1° north of the open cluster M34 in Perseus on the morning of June 10th, and 3° south of 1.8 magnitude Mirfak (Alpha Persei) on the 13th. It’s still about 15° high in the northeast as the sky starts to grow light on June 15th, but it appears roughly 1° lower every day after that. The comet passes zero-magnitude Capella on the 21st, and it’s very low by the 24th, when it passes 2nd-magnitude Beta Aurigae. By now Comet McNaught may be as bright as 4th or 5th magnitude, but moonlight is returning.

The comet will be lost to view by June’s end - just before it reaches perihelion on July 2nd, 0.405 astronomical unit from the Sun. It remains far from Earth throughout this apparition, never venturing closer than 1.135 a.u. (in mid-June). After perihelion it will fade rapidly as it heads to the far-southern sky. The comet is approaching on a hyperbolic orbit, which means that it’s making its first trip in from the Oort Cloud. So its brightness is even less predictable than usual. Will it flare unexpectedly or perhaps fizzle right out?

Many McNaughts

This particular Comet McNaught is one of 54 (and counting) named for Robert H. McNaught of Australia’s Siding Spring Observatory. He works in the Siding Spring Survey, funded by NASA to record large swaths of sky to find potentially hazardous near-Earth objects. The survey also turns up many other moving objects. McNaught found this comet (which will never come near Earth) at 17th magnitude on an image taken last September 9th. Pre-discovery images quickly established its orbit.

The most famous of the Comet McNaughts is C/2006 P1, also known as the Great Comet of 2007. It was an easy naked-eye sight when passing near the Sun in mid-January of that year, shining at magnitude –5 or –6, and in the following days it flung a gigantic, multi-banded tail across the Southern Hemisphere’s evening sky
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« Reply #14 on: May 22, 2010, 12:12:45 pm »

Hello guys, I am now at the Ukraine's most exciting star party - UAF-2010 near Eupatoria, Crimea. Last night I had my first piece of some clear (and very dark!!!) skies. Just before dawn had barely seen C/2009R1 in Pegasus, then lost it 10 minutes later because the sky was bright but not perfectly transparent. Had also observed 81P and C/2009K5 last night. Three comets per night is a personal record for me  Smiley , btw two of them I've seen for the first time, and in total they're mine 8th and 9th comets. I will try to post here much more detailed info (and photos!) soon after I'll get home.
Cheers

P.S. ZNELM is near 6.4 at my current site, and Milky Way is awesome - shining bright from Cassiopeia to Sagittarius/Scorpio, as low as -37deg DEC.
« Last Edit: May 22, 2010, 12:15:50 pm by Roman White » Report Spam   Logged

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