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On the 18th cloud-fields were present, but the weather forecast predicted no rain. Between the clouds the sky was quite clear, so I stepped outside with my 150mm f/5 Fraunhofer. Comet C/2017 T2 Pannstarrs presented himself near the Double Cluster in Perseus. With magnitude 9.3 not the easiest one I ever saw, but at least an observable comet again. At search-magnification of 31X still invisible under my LP-skies, but at 83X discernible. That session came to a sudden stop, as one of the cloud fields did not adhere to the agreement that no rain would fall. A heavy shower suddenly reached earth. Of course I was too late and I quickly brought my telescope in, dripping with water! A 6 inch Hygromat!
Next day gave the same weather forecast, but this time the clouds restrained nicely an it stayed dry. Transparancy even seemed a tad better and happily I turned to some nice winter deepsky objects, and of course the comet. Still not visible at 31X, the sky-background is far too clear for an exit pupil of 5 mm, but observable at 83X. I put in my barlow and decided that 150X was the best.
The core glimpsed every now and than with averted vision. I even saw what I presume to be a background star through the coma. It is the vague light on the right in the coma. The tail seems to point to the East according to Sky Safari.
Sketch:
The small comet-pic on the left and up is just a small tryout on the same sketch sheet, but it looked all right so I left it there.
Thanks for reading!
Refractors in frequency of use : *SW Evostar 120ED F/7.5 (all round ), * Vixen 102ED F/9 (vintage), both on Vixen GPDX. GrabnGo on Alt/AZ : *SW Startravel 102 F/5 refractor( widefield, Sun, push-to), *OMC140 Maksutov F/14.3 ( planets). Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5. Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS,*Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40 Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt. Amateur astronomer since 1970.
Hello John. A very nice report from you on C/2017 T2 Comet Pannstarrs. And you did a fine job on your sketch too. Thanks for sharing this with us on here John, and the best of regards.
Marshall
Sky-Watcher 90mm f/13.8 Maksutov-Cassegrain on motorized Multimount
Orion Astroview 120ST f/5 Refractor on EQ3 mount
Celestron Comet Catcher 140mm f/3.64 Schmidt-Newtonian on alt-az mount
Celestron Omni XLT150R f/5 Refractor on CG4 mount with dual axis drives.
Orion 180mm f/15 Maksutov-Cassegrain on CG5-GT Goto mount.
Orion XT12i 12" f/4.9 Dobsonian Intelliscope.
Kamakura 7x35 Binoculars and Celestron SkyMaster 15x70 Binoculars. ZWO ASI 120MC camera.
>)))))*>
Nicely done John; good for you on catching that. Nice sketch as well
I hope your scope dried out, that has yet to happen to me; must've been quite the panic!
All the best,
Mark
"The Hankmeister" Celestron 8SE, orange tube Vixen made C80, CG4, AZ-EQ5 and SolarQuest mounts.
Too much Towa glass/mirrors.
Solar:
H/A - PST stage 2 mod with a Baader 90mm ERF on a Celestron XLT 102 (thanks Mike!)
Ca-K - W/O 61mm, Antares 1.6 barlow, Baader 3.8 OD and Ca-K filters with a ZWO ASI174mm.
W/L - C80-HD with Baader 5.0 & 3.8 Solar film, Solar Continuum 7.5nm and UV/IR filters with a Canon EOS 550D. Member of the RASC
Thanks to all for your kind words.
The telescope did survive. I had to be quick though in order to prevent the water coming in between the lenses. I did not panic (smartest thing to do), for I experienced something like this with my old C8 ( left outside for a coffee-break, in the meanwhile.......).
Back then all I had to do is to take the whole instrument apart. :sigh:
But not this time.
Refractors in frequency of use : *SW Evostar 120ED F/7.5 (all round ), * Vixen 102ED F/9 (vintage), both on Vixen GPDX. GrabnGo on Alt/AZ : *SW Startravel 102 F/5 refractor( widefield, Sun, push-to), *OMC140 Maksutov F/14.3 ( planets). Most used Eyepieces: *Panoptic 24, *Morpheus 14, *Leica ASPH zoom, *Zeiss barlow, *Pentax XO5. Commonly used bino's : *Jena 10X50 , * Canon 10X30 IS,*Swarovski Habicht 7X42, * Celestron 15X70, *Kasai 2.3X40 Rijswijk Public Observatory: * Astro-Physics Starfire 130 f/8, * 6 inch Newton, * C9.25, * Meade 14 inch LX600 ACF, *Lunt. Amateur astronomer since 1970.
Nice John. I can just see your rendition of the tail - excellent sketch!
-Michael Refractors: ES AR152 f/6.5 Achromat on Twilight II, Celestron 102mm XLT f/9.8 on Celestron Heavy Duty Alt Az mount, KOWA 90mm spotting scope Binoculars: Celestron SkyMaster 15x70, Bushnell 10x50 Eyepieces: Various, GSO Superview, 9mm Plossl, Celestron 25mm Plossl Camera: ZWO ASI 120 Naked Eye: Two Eyeballs Latitude: 48.7229° N
Funny, but quite alarming!
:sigh: 