Go Observe – 46P/ Wirtanen Good Luck
Two sketches of 46P/Wirtanen creating one gif showing the comets movement over time. 20:40 UT Dec 9th 2018 & 00:50 UT Dec 10th 2018. Dob, 1,200 mm FL / 32 mm eyepiece/ 37X/ pastel and gel pen. 4.5 mag, DC 4 coma visible naked eye , huge diffuse object. While viewing I thought I observed some radial features but not clear enough to include in the sketches. The edges / shape of the coma was difficult to see. No green observed or tail visible to me at the time. This is a view from my dob therefore south is at the top. The comet is acutally heading upwards in the nightsky. It is remarkable how quickly it is moving away from the star 94 Cet in my drawings. This comet has a coma of circa 36,000 km. The nucleus is spewing out gas and dust. To my eye it had no green tint. Only comet C/2014 Q2 Lovejoy in 2015 … Continue reading →