Comet Lulin still looking good

This unexpected bright comet has been a pleasure. I've posted some of my photos of this comet on my blog. But there are some other nice photos by others too.
3/7/2009
(if not this date go to this link/website and then go to archives link which is on the Spaceweather page lower portion)
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap090307.html

Iceball falls into the Sun

On Feb. 23rd, 2009, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) observed a comet plunge into the sun and disintegrate. This one was part of a family of small comets called Kreutz sungrazers which resulted from the breakup of a giant comet s over 2000 years ago. Most are small and faint, but this one was a beauty. Watch the movie of its demise. The comet appears coming up from the left at around 8 oclock. (The black disc is a coronography type instruments that shield the Sun to show the surrounding area).
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/pickoftheweek/C3_comet_feb09_zm.mov

Green Comet, blue stars and now a comet tail

Last night February 28, at Powell Observatory, 20 minutes south of Kansas City, we welcomed w about 200 people who wanted to observe the comet through our 30 inch telescope. The snow had stopped, the clouds disappeared and we had color clear weather. The green comet was glowing at 6th magnitude. It now was up and south of the bright star Regulus. People could see its coma (cloud like area around the comet head called the nucleus , which you can't see in this photo) and nucleus which was near the center but was more difficult to observe. (Photo taken by Eric Flescher through 6 inch telescope,60 seconds- I am workin on the color photo).
Another person in Italy took a picture of the green comet when it was near bluish Spica a few days ago (we had clouds during this close approach). You can see it at
3/1/2009
(if not this date go to this link/website and then go to archives link which is on the Spaceweather page lower portion)
http://www.spaceweather.com/
On 2/25/2009, I took more photos of the comet. The tail is now easily seen and more pronounced as it has swung around Earth and now away from it, heading toward the outer reaches of the solar system. The tail is out to the side instead of behind the coma so we can now see it. Now the view is more like what we normally think of a comet, with it's nucleus having a streaming tail (boiling off by the Sun's energy), pointing away from the Sun.

Mardi Gras' Fat Tuesday’s Green Smudge Comet Lulin nearest 2/24

It was my hope to take photograph the Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday’s Green Smudge Comet Lulin. I wanted to show what Comet Lulin might look like with out a big telescopic view, from a city or slightly darker area to simulate what most would see as the comet comes closest to Earth on 2/24. I tried a couple of weeks ago but no success.

Last night 2/21, I tried again at Powell Observatory, Louisburg, KS just south of Kansas City. Some people said that the comet could now be spotted with binoculars and even naked eye! And I saw it had brightened and could see both these views as well as in our 30 inch telescope.

0n 2/21/09 returning back to Powell, I saw the brightening comet. The nucleus was brighter and so was the rest of the comet coma. It is moving away fast from the Sun.
We could see it moving across the the telescope's field. The coma was bigger and one side (left) was brighter. We could see it easily with our binoculars and could see it (naked eye) as a smudge below Saturn.

This time I was successful using my Canon Rebel XT with 55mm lens, ASA 800 at 30 seconds f/6.3.
You can see the smudge comet (6 magnitude) in the photo just under ) the 3.56 star Zanijava which is just below the brighter planet Saturn (mag 0.56) to the left of the bright blue star called Denabola, in the constellation Leo . Since it was 11:00 CT, the comet was still coming up from the East horizon and still drank in some of the lights from the horizon. Still I was glad to image it . If I could see it with naked eye and binoculars and image it without a big lens (my next attempt), you can too!

Additional information

Comet Lulin, discovered at an observatory in China , is now brightening for a date to be nearest Earth on Feb 24. Now at mag 6 we hope it will brighten to 5th. I saw it with our 30 inch telescope a couple of weeks ago using our Powell Observatory’s 39 inch telescope. Its greenish colored and was difficult to see. The nucleus was even more difficult to see.

This photo on APOD is like what I saw of it and sketched from last week. A tenuous circle like cloud like coma with viewable but difficult to see nucleus right in the center.

2/21-22/2009
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html
if not 2/21 look at archivescan't find it? use the archives and go to earlier date other then this one

Also there are several nice photos on spaceweather.com

Also nice article and more pics at
http://www.space.com/spacewatch/090220-comet-lulin.html

Encounter Comet Lulin and Internationa Space Station 2/18/2009

Here are my links to see what the sky looks like on 2/18/2009
http://eoas-dreric1kansas.blogspot.com/
http://eoas-dreric1kansas.blogspot.com/2009/02/encounter-comet-lulin-and-internationa.html
Encounter Comet Lulin and Internationa Space Station 2/18/2009
Here is of what the sky will look like in the morning of 2/18/2009 showing the locations of
(1) Comet Lulin (at about mag 6 need small telescope or binoculars) red spot slightly to the left of center)
(2) ISS (Space Station) mag 0.07 middle- left of Saturn (mag 0.61)
(3) Saturn (mag 0.61) near constellation Leo
Taken with Starry Night Pro
Location from : Kansas City, KS (your view may vary a bit)
Time: around 6:18 Central Time

Comet Lulin success

Thanks for opening up Powell to get a better look see at Comet Lulin.
(I did see it in the morning next to the double star)
That was fun.
Many thanks for meeting me down there . Jay Manifold, Mitch, David Young and I got up early in the balmy weather to meet at Powell. The after full moon did not bother us and the clouds stayed away for good observing.
Comet Lulin was visible in the big scope with its faint green coma and a tiny discernable nucleus. I did not see the small tail even with the filter. We also looked and it with the big binoculars. We could see how much is moved within the 1.5 hours we were there.
We also saw 3 bright satellites too , (not the ISS) .
Also a nice look at Saturn with the rings edge on.
I took some pictures through my canon and though the scope. While I can see some stars on the digital photo I don't see any comet - I am still trying to doctor it.
That's a good ideas for an outreach to see the comet (it will brightest on 24th- we shall see how bright it gets).

Eric Flescher

Comet Lulin is approaching

The greenish looking Comet Lulin, has a tail and will reach maximum magnitude in February. While I have not seen it yet, others have and photographed it.
Here is one of the latest links to one . (if you have your own on a website please send me a link or send me your photo or sketch and I will publish it on the blog with your permission and citation)
1/26/09
(if not this date go to this link/website and then go to archives link which is on the APOD Spaceweather page lower portion)
http://www.spaceweather.com/