~ Comet ISON in 2013 & Comet McNaught in 2007 ~

Comet ISON was never favoured for viewers in the Southern Hemisphere because with the summer season upon us the dawn sky was just too light. But that did not stop me from trying to get some pictures :-)

My first try was on the new Moon weekend in early October when Comet ISON was still a long way away from Earth but at it’s closest distance to Mars on its journey through the Solar System. Try as I might, I just could not see it visually with either my 80mm refractor or 10x50 binoculars on the morning of the 6th October. It was indeed very faint and with the sky becoming light with every passing minute there was no time to waste, if I wanted to get an image.

So I decided to just get on with it and shoot off a few 3 minutes shots in the general area and see what I got…on my last image I managed to capture the comet just near the edge of the frame…then the sky became just too light to take any more pictures, but I did get one shot…and that’s the main thing!! 

Comet ISON image taken with a Meade ED80 refractor telescope tracking on top of larger telescope. 
(Just one 3 minute exposure in very light sky).   

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For the next month, even though I got up many mornings to view the comet, it was either too cloudy or the sky was just too light. But on the morning of the 19th November it all got the better of me after seeing many images on spaceweather.com and I decided to take some really short shots (6 seconds) to see if I could just get something…. and YES, in the bright light of the dawn, there is was… not far away from the star Regulus in Leo.

It’s definitely not an image that will set the world on fire…but at least I got my own image of comet ISON before its fatal encounter with the Sun…and I’m very happy about that :-)

Comet ISON image taken in a very light predawn sky (20x6 second images) with Canon 7D and 17-85mm lens, stacked in DSS.    

You can find out all the latest information on Comet ISON at NASA's Comet ISON web pages below:
http://www.isoncampaign.org/
http://www.nasa.gov/ison/

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~ Reminiscing another great comet that did survive its encounter with the Sun in 2007 ~
  “The magnificent Comet McNaught”

Comet McNaught was also a sungrazing comet but it survived its close encounter with the Sun and spectacularly headed back out through the Solar System in early 2007. The comet was at perihelion on the 12th January 2007 and everyone was so excited to see what it would look like as it headed away from the Sun.

Because of the cloudy weather that was all over Australia, nobody had managed to see the comet at post perihelion and it was extremely frustrating for all us astronomers!!! 

Then on the evening of the 18th January just after sunset, I walked out my front door at home and just could not believe my eyes…there was Comet McNaught in all its glory…”Wow” that’s all I could say as I rushed to grab my camera and tripod….

Comet McNaught image taken at 7.40pm on the 18th January 2007 with Canon 350D and 70-300mm lens set at 300mm. exposure 2.5 seconds, f5.6 & ISO 800. 
(Just one shot)

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On the following day (19th January 2007) my husband and I headed out to my dark observing site at Leyburn but decided to stay the night at Toowoomba to find a clear and secluded site just outside of town to see if we could view the comet after sunset. I set up my camera and tripod and we waited for the sun to go down…what came next was…JUST Astounding!!!

For a moment we both just looked at this incredible scene before our eyes…the comets tail was just unbelievable as it spread right across the horizon and feathered away and down into the horizon…it was just huge, and I needed to use my widest camera lens just to fit in all in the frame…it was just spectacular and so awesome!!!






Photo taken with my Canon 350D and 70-300mm lens set at 75mm at 7.57pm on the 19th January 2007, 20 second exposure at f4, ISO 400.

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Magnificent Comet McNaught on the evening of the 19th January 2007 Photo taken at Toowoomba, at 8.00pm on the 19th January 2007 with a Canon 350D camera and 18-55 lens set at 34mm, 30 second exposure, f4.5 & ISO 400 (one shot)

NASA’s APOD for the 1st February 2007 explains the science behind Comet McNaught’s remarkable tail at: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070201.html

The next day (20th January 2007) I meet my friends and fellow members of SAS on the observing field at Leyburn and there was great excitement about the comet, we set out to find a high place to observe the comet that evening. We found an area on top of a hill in a local vineyard and from there we all witnessed this amazing comet for a second night. It began to show itself just after sunset…that’s how bright Comet McNaught was in the sky…

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‘Wow’ Comet McNaught with Venus and Tiny crescent Moon in the sky Saturday the 20th January 2007 at Leyburn in Australia

Amazing Comet McNaught 20th January 2007 by Noeleen Lowndes :-)

Please see some images that I took of my friends and fellow members from our astronomy club on the Gold Coast called the Southern Astronomical Society (SAS)on the 20th January 2007. When we arrived on top of the hill we were all very very excited and just sprung out of our cars to set up…then it was all on to see who would be the first to spot the comet :-)

‘Wow’ what an awesome display Comet McNaught put on for us that night…. just stunning!!!

If Comet ISON had survived its close encounter with the Sun, it may have indeed put on an amazing display just like Comet McNaught…but stay tuned, maybe Comet Lovejoy has a big surprise for us all......

Footnote: On the 15th December I posted some of these images on spaceweather.com in remembrance of this superb comet at: http://spaceweathergallery.com/indiv_upload.php?upload_id=91464