It is exhibiting a markedly condensed coma, giving the impression
of a nearly-visible stellar center. The comet was conveniently
bracketed by stars tonight, and using multiple repetitions of the
old focus, defocus, compare, etc, routine, I was able to
determine a magnitude of 6.5. It appeared exactly as bright as
the star SAO 219577 which was conveniently close by. It was
noticeably brighter than a nearby 6.7 magnitude star.
Averted vision gave the impression that the coma was slightly
elongated; the nearly stellar condensation was not entirely
centered in the coma's haze, nor was the coma perfectly round,
but rather slightly elliptical. The position angle of the
elongation appeared to me to be nearly 90; I will call it 75 on a
rough guess at the eyepiece.
Now, honestly, this is _really_ the last time I will be looking
for this comet. Really. No, I mean it this time!
-- Jeff Medkeff | If a little knowledge is a dangerous An Amateur Astronomer | thing, where is the man who has so in Sierra Vista, AZ | much as to be out of danger?
From: Alexandre Millot milalex@canl.nc
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 23:36:20 +1100
Subject: Hale-Bopp still with us
This morning, a friend of mine asked me if the comet is still visible and what are its coordinates. After a short check on my computer, I gave him the info.
This evening, the sky was clear westside and I checked to be shure I gave the right position to search for Hale-Bopp.
Sunset time : 17:17 Observation time : 18:05 Instrument : 7x50 binos Seen H.B. at azimuth 281 and 10 deg above horizon Est.mag.2.5 Nucleus : fuzzy Tail : fan shaped, 1.5 deg long, pointing up 45 deg.I will continue to watch the comet as often as possible until it will be lost in the sunset glare.
From: Maxine & Michael oliri@ozemail.com.au
Date: Wed, 30 Apr 1997 06:26:45 +0930 (CST)
Subject: Hale-Bopp from Adelaide
Problem, three hours earlier on same spot I had been interviewed by channel 10 TV crew where I had explained where to look for it and stated I had not personally seen it since August 96. I opined would not be all that easy to find through binocs. Trouble is, that interview is not going to air until Thursday evening. Half Adelaide will have seen it with the naked eye by then.
Cheers
_--_|\ / \ \_/--*_/ Greetings from Adelaide v
From: Anthony Beresford starman@CAMTECH.NET.AU
Date: Fri, 25 Apr 1997 19:49:11 +0930 (CST)
Subject: Hale-Bopp from South Australia
From: BRENT WATSON bjwatson@IOMEGA.COM
Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 13:43:11 -0600
Subject: A pleasant starry night
What more could I ask for? I got in my airplane at 5:00 and took off for the 45 minute flight. This by itself is enough to put a smile on my face! To think I got to work on telescopes also on the short trip is only icing on the cake. When I finished for the evening, I returned to the airport for the return trip. It was already fairly dark. As I took off and rolled out in my departure climb I noticed there was a great sight out the front of the plane. Although primary guidance was done with VOR and GPS, Hale-Bopp was the beacon by which I steered to return home. After turning the illumination down in the cockpit, I had a great visual observing session at 12,500 feet.
Not all things that happen to a person in a lifetime are good. I will remember this one for a long time to come.
From: Doyle Beaty dbeaty@ECNET.ec
Date: Thu, 24 Apr 1997 09:56:22 -0500
Subject: Re: A pleasant starry night
We spent the next couple of hours introducing ourselves and exchanging gifts, by this time the sun was setting and I was searching for the fuzzy mark of H/B. This is where the fun started. When I found it, I pointed it out to the teachers who in turn pointed it out to the indians. The indians started getting a little nervous. 1/2 hr later H/B could be viewed in all its splendor, I was enjoying it but the indians were even more nervous and started chanting and calling for the Shaman ( local witchdoctor ) The Shaman shows up and everybody joins in the chanting and started a kind of dance in unison. The Shaman was chanting and blowing smoke while brushing everyone with some ceremonial leaves. The teachers told me the comet was a bad sign for them and that the evil spirits brought with the comet needed to be cleaned from everyone. So I was cleansed also ( I feel much better by the way ). After everyone was cleansed, the indians brought out the Che-Cha. This is a home brew made from either Yuca or Chonta ( both popular foods in the jungle ). The beauty of this drink is you don't wake up the next morning with a headache, but its kind of disgusting how its made.
Anyway H/B finally set and everyone calmed down I was able to coax a few indians into looking at the moon thru the 60mm. Although I couldn't understand them, the expression on their faces after viewing the craters up close said it all, they were impressed. The comet is providing people with some interesting and wonderful experiences, I won't forget this one.
,____ /` 0 __\ ( . \ \ . | /******************^*\./**********************************************\ |* /|\ | *| |* Doyle Beaty ( | ) | In the Jungle anything is Possible *| |* Email: dbeaty@pi.pro.ec | *| |* ECUADOR, SA. | LATITUDE 0 *| |* 78d 29'W , 0d 11'S | Viewing the best of Both Hemispheres *| |* | *| \*********************************************************************/
From: Bill Hollenbach ah52@solo.pipex.co.za
Date: Mon, 21 Apr 1997 21:42:48 -0200
Subject: WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THE COMET!!!
We spotted the comet about three degrees above the W/NW horizon, over
the sea.
The comet was in the Sunset glow and what could be a tail. The coma
and stellar appearance is very visible but it is too bright to distinguish
any form of the tail. With averted vision, a tail could be imagined/seen.
From down here, the nucleus of the come was brighter than Deneb, that skimms
the northern horizon.
I hope the comet will put up a great display like West and Hyakutake.
Let's hope, it goes crazy after crossing the ecliptic like the other great
comets.
Thanx for all you Northerners did for us. I hope that one day, we could
reciprocate.(WOW , a big word!!! Let's hope it is spelled right. :-)) Cheers
From: JOHN PAZMINO john.pazmino@moondog.com
Date: Wed, 02 Apr 97 11:44:00 -0400
Subject: Hale-Bopp 29 March 1997 (never give up)
The day on Saturday the 29th of March was cloudy and it started to rain in the mid afternoon. The Amateur Astronomers Association scheduled one of its several comet sessions for the evening, starting at sundown, in Sheep Meadow of Central Park. The session was called off. However, I had an idea. In New York an afternoon thunder storm commonly ends at sundown and the clouds dissipate by nightfall. Thus, even tho I would have no company in the Park, I may get a good view of Hale-Bopp!
So my father gave me a ride to the Brighton Beach subway under a summer-like thunder-&-lightning storm. The Brighton Beach route goes straight to Columbus Circle, an entry into the Park, with a one-seat ride. The train crosses from Brooklyn into Manhattan on Manhattan Bridge. From the train I had a full panorama of the City. Yep, the storm was still in force with clouds hovering 150 meters of so off the ground.
How can one tell? Rain clouds are featureless gray blankets with nothing to gage their elevation.
Ah!, in New York, we got cloud gages. The skyscrapers are so tall that when the clouds lower in storms they cover the upper floors! Truly from this phaenomenon the term 'skyscraper' comes. So on this day the clouds came down to about the 150m 'mark' on the 'rulers'.
At Columbus Circle I exited to the street and, lo!, the rain eased up to an annoting pitter-patter. The sky was definitely brightening in the west, tho it was still thickly overcast. I walked over to Sheep Meadow, the actuall site of the comet viewing. All its gates were locked; the session was cancelled. Over the chest high chainlink fence I saw no one at all in the field. By now, quite 18:00, the rain tapered to a splashing drizzle.
Oh, what the hell. I walked along the park paths keeping Sheep Meadow on my right with the old 'hand on the wall' technique. No one around but a few joggers and dagwalkers. I never suffered wetting from the direct rain. I had a hooded jacket and a wollknit hat. What did discomfort me were the puddles along the paths. I stepped into several, some reaching over my shoes. Stamping the feet did shake off the bulk of the water before it soaked into the socks.
The rain continued to ebb and the clouds gradually thinned. The clouds lifted off of the towers, expoosing their entire statures. Far too slowly. At this rate the sky would clear well after 20:00, when Hale-Bopp is behind the skyline. The whole point of using Sheep Meadow is that as an open grassy field a ha-klick across we would have stationed at the east end to get a low skyline to the west.
By the time I reached the east side of Sheep Meadow it was obvious that the clouds would linger thru late twilight to prevent any view of the comet. I went home. Being now over a half kilometer from Columbus Circle I did not walk back there for my train. At the southeast corner of the Park is an other station, Fifth Avenue, that has trains that connect to mine.
If your memories of our transit system linger from the American Bicenttennial or the Ellis Island or Brooklyn Bridge celebrations, they are utterly ediurnate. This Fifth Avenue station, along with scores of others, is under gut rebuilding into really beautiful places. Without going into the details, the station looks like it was constructed from scratch only this year, altho it was in continuous service since World War One. And it keeps the arts-&-crafts mosaic tiles that are so legendary in New York's subways.
Again, after changing to the Brighton Beach train, I crossed Manhattan on the way to Brookltn. The sky was actually blue with twilight, but still shielded with clouds. The rain was completely stopped.
By the time I got home, in the Gelfand's Hill section of Brooklyn, the clouds were shredding apart. It was 19:30. I watched the northwest sky from my stoop. No comet. The sky was gauzed over in its blue spots. Yet it was possibly going to clear up in time to spot Hale-Bopp. Maybe.
I looked again at 19:45. Still thin clouds blocked the comet. Would I lose the sighting for tonight? I can take that fate, given the erratic weather we get in the City.
I checked at 20:00. Bingo! The comet peeped thru the clouds! OK, I could see just the head as a regular 'star'. Any tail was mixed in the residual cloud shreds and gauze. In bioculars the head had a close- hugging haze around it, but no good structure.
So!, I did see Hale-Bopp and followed it for an other twenty minutes until it slid behind houses for the night. I can hardly urge anyone to be as silly as I was that Saturday, but it goes to show that one can never give up on seeing this comet.
From: Mark Wagner mgw@resource-intl.com
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 1997 15:06:44 -0800 (PST)
Subject: Comet Crazies
Soon, the comet blinked into view below a few wisps of cloud drifting slowly in the west, from north to south. The excitement in the crowd was electric, as all heads turned northwest and voices murmured "right there" and "just under *that* little cloud. Binoculars and telescopes quickly swung into action. The owner of the 12" LX-200, being new to large crowds at events pushed by the press, commented to me twice that there were "too many people!" And in fact, had we fewer than what at that point must have easily been 25 telescopes set up, the crush would have been unbearable. Lines were long at all the equipment, and more people could be seen streaming into the school yard from the parking lot.
All sorts of questions were asked. What are the "rings" around the front of the comet. What will happen to it? Have they ever hit the earth and what would happen? What are they made of? How large are they? Where do they come from? And, of course, the usual gasps of amazement and comments on the beauty of the view in binoculars, where the extent of the visible tail could be appreciated.
We received thanks from so many people, it was an extremely rewarding evening. Of course, when the comet dropped into the muck, scopes turned to the other celestial delights. M42, Mars showed wonderful detail in the 5" Takahashi and in a 17" dob (with off-axis masking), M41, M46, M81 and M82, M65 and M66 with (much to my surprise) the companion NGC3628, and many other objects.
Finally, about 11:30, the crowds had gone home, as had many of the scopes. Although there was some haziness that night, making the sky brighter than it might otherwise be from that location, all who were there agreed that for an in-town site, it was worth coming back to. We will hold another star party there on April 11, and I expect the comet fever will have reached maximum brilliance by then.
...
Soon this comet will pass, remembered fondly for its beauty and how
it for a moment stimulated the public's imagination and interest in astronomy,
and we will return to the normal craziness of summer time observing at
Fremont Peak. Just a few more weekends until then.
I think the next dark sky TAC event will not be until the comet passes. Peace and quite are beginning to sound like a nice companion.
Clear skies,