Comet Pan-Starrs... Live Watch!

weve been waiting for this comet for ages, and its finally here
this thread is for your comments, images and thoughts on this phenomenon as it happens

the comet was spotted by a hawaiian telescope, and the comet was named after it..Pan-starss
known as - C/2011 L4

they have been watching it for a couple of days.
but now its visible in the northern hemisphere

tonight....look out to the western sky (where the sun sets)
if your in the UK, the moon will be in the west
so it should be along side the moon

warnings are that it could be bright enough to blind!!!!...yea right..im still not missing it lol

here is the latest news report [random]
www.independent.co.uk...


THIS IS NOT A METEOR OR ASTERIOD...its a comet..a ball of ice and other material, from afar
it started its journey before any of us were born....

i am very excited and interested in what you have to offer

Tuesday and Wednesday nights looking good from the UK - the comet will only just be coming into view tonight (assuming you have clear skies!)

Been looking forward to this for a while - hope to have some photos to add to this thread later this week


Edit: the comet itself will probably be no brighter than the faintest star in The Plough, but still easily visible to the naked eye. The warning about blinding yourself is a bit of tabloid nonsense - just don't go looking for it before the sun has set

I hope the clouds go away here in Portugal, as I probably will not get a chance of seeing it during the week.

reply to post by thePharaoh


thePharaoh thanks for the update and for any who cannot see with your 3D eyes take a look towards SOL direction and use your 3rd eye(s) and sense observe and enjoy its energy..

NAMASTE*******

it's visible in the northern hemisphere??? What time and direction to look if your in north America?? Thats if the clouds go away. But I will keep my eyes peeled during the week and I will post anything I see.

Originally posted by thepolish1
it's visible in the northern hemisphere??? What time and direction to look if your in north America?? Thats if the clouds go away. But I will keep my eyes peeled during the week and I will post anything I see.

Same as Britain - in the west just after sunset. It's moving through the constellations of Pisces and Andromeda and will be visible fairly close to the new crescent Moon on the 12th and 13th

www.bbc.co.uk...

www.space.com...

Here is some shots from STEREO BEHIND ..

www.abovetopsecret.com...

No luck, the sky was and is full of clouds.

Originally posted by ArMaP
No luck, the sky was and is full of clouds.

yes. for me too here in london

Snowing in Scotland /Loch Lomond area.

Originally posted by thepolish1
it's visible in the northern hemisphere??? What time and direction to look if your in north America?? Thats if the clouds go away. But I will keep my eyes peeled during the week and I will post anything I see.

The best thing to do is to find an observing site with good views to the West - if possible elevated or looking out to sea. The important thing is that there are no large obstructions that get in the way of seeing sky that is just above the horizon in that direction. Be at your site just before sunset, and watch the Sun disappear below the horizon. When it has set, Panstarrs should be visible just above the horizon and a little to the left of where the Sun disappeared below the horizon.

I would also highly recommend installing Sellarium which will show you exactly where Panstarrs will be in the sky at your particular location. You will have to add Panstars manually. This tutorial explains how:

I'm going to use Comet Garradd as an example as it came up in another thread and is the hot must see comet of the times but it is just as easy to select any other object you like.
It is however important that you upgrade Sellarium to the latest release for it to work.

1. Press F2 to open the "configuration" window. Under the "Plugins" tab in the "Configuration" window, select "Solar System Editor". Under "options" at the bottom of the tab, click the "Configure" button. A window for "Solar System; objects" will open. Under the "Solar System tab" of the "Solar System objects" window, click the "Import orbital elements in MPC format" button at the bottom of the tab. An "import data" window will open.

2.Under the "lists" tab of the "Import data" window, Select the "type" as "comets"; select the "source" as "download a list of objects from the internet"; under "or select from the list" click on "Select bookmark" and select "MPC's list of observable comets," and then click the button "get orbital elements."
A list of objects found will load. Scroll down and check the box next to C/2009 Garradd, then click the "Add; objects". C/2009 Garradd will then be added to your solar system. Close the Solar System editor and Configuration window.

3. If you want to see where Garradd will be in the sky, you'll need to update your location and time.

4. Find Garradd. Press F3 to open the "Find object" window. Type in "C/2009 Garradd" and you should only see one choice "C/2009 Garradd" below the search box. Click the magnifying glass at the right of the search box to lock in on Garradd. It will automatically give you a view of the sky where Garradd is located.

Source: stargazerslounge.com

OH boy this is great! Thank you Pharaoh! I will definitely be looking tonite! West coast storm is passed us now and clear skies! Maybe I can get a good photo.

I was disappointed as a kid to miss Haley's comet because I thought "Well that was my chance to see an awesome comet, too bad..." but to my surprise I've seen a few in the last 15 years, and they were all great. And....we get to see this one and Comet Ison in the fall!

Not to mention any stray asteroids blowing out windows...

Originally posted by AndyMayhew

Originally posted by thepolish1
it's visible in the northern hemisphere??? What time and direction to look if your in north America?? Thats if the clouds go away. But I will keep my eyes peeled during the week and I will post anything I see.

Same as Britain - in the west just after sunset. It's moving through the constellations of Pisces and Andromeda and will be visible fairly close to the new crescent Moon on the 12th and 13th

www.bbc.co.uk...

www.space.com...

Thank you AndyMayhew. Unfortunatly I can not se anything tonight as it is pouring down rain here. But I will keep an eye out during the week.

reply to post by thePharaoh


S & F! Thank you for the info! I have the meteor showers marked in me
calendar but did not know of this comet. At the moment I'm on east coast US
& hope I did not miss it as they are usually in viewing for a few days?

Cheers
Ektar

reply to post by FireballStorm


Thanks for that information!

I updated my Stellarium and followed the steps and now I can confirm that I will not be home in time to see it during the week, as I thought.

Well, I have to wait for the next one.

Clear sunset in Scotland in my area ,when will the comet become
visible ?

Originally posted by rigel4
Clear sunset in Scotland in my area ,when will the comet become
visible ?

Possibly 20-30 mins after sunset. It might be a bit more, or it might be a bit less.

I went to a nearby hill for a look at sunset today, but cloud rolled in and foiled my plans to observe it

Hopefully will have another chance in the next couple of days.

I'm only posting this because no one else has posted any pictures. This image was taken with my i phone, freehand thru a pair of Celestron Binoculars mounted on a tripod. Tommorow I will attempt a better shot using my telescope now that I know about where to look. Wish me luck

reply to post by Khaaaaaan!!

Awwww. Such a cute little guy.

Nice shot!

reply to post by Phage


I just regret not going all out today. The pic gives no justice to what me and the family saw with our own eyes thru the binoc's. I was just lucky to find it because it wasn't visable to the naked eye today. TY for the compliment though.