by Matt Tarlach
I spotted Comet S4 (LINEAR) for the first time last night, from the SVAS Observatory at Blue Canyon, CA.
At about 0200 PDT I located it for the first time, in 8x42 binos. It was a tiny, barely detectable smudge a couple of degrees SW of M34. In fact I only suspected it at first; it was only when I went back at about 0315 and noted movement that I was sure I had the comet. I would not have located it at all if I hadn't had the right issue of Sky & Tel handy and known exactly where to look.
At around 0400 the first glows of twilight shut down my photography operation, and I went into the SVAS Observatory to see what LINEAR looked like through the 16.5" Ritchey. It barely showed up in the big finder. Again, if I hadn't already found it in the binos, and known right where to look, I would have had a very hard time locating it.
In the 16.5" Ritchey LINEAR looked like a comet! The coma appeared about 1' long and quite extended E-W. It has diffuse edges and condenses smoothly toward the center; there is a faint, near-stellar core that pops in and out of view with the seeing. The tail is wedge-shaped, and stretches about 3' to the West. The published estimates of 8th magnitude seem about right.
The online image that most resembles my impression of LINEAR's appearance in the 16.5" is located at:
