3 Dog Night

by Dennis Beckley

Tonight I was able to observe 3 relatively bright comets all in the space of about in hour from the driveway of my home in Benicia.

First up was comet T7 low in the SW about 6 degrees up and to the left of Alphard in Hydra. Using my XT10 with a 31 mm Nagler it just stood out from the background glow as a circular patch with a central condensation and no obvious tail. It was in a nice star field and the 1.5 degree FOV of the 31 Nagler really framed it well.

Next up was comet Q4 high up in UMa. Still relatively bright and still displaying a small tail. Brought back memories of when I saw it in all it's glory at the TSP last month.

Last up was comet K4 in Hercules. This was a pleasant surprise high up toward Draco with bright core and small fan-shaped tail. Nice starfield!

Not a bad night. Three comets seen with a low power eyepiece from the comfort of my own home! Seems like a good way to start off the coming week.

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Posted on sf-bay-tac Jun 13, 2004 23:17:06 PT
Converted by report.pm 1.2 Jan 01, 2005 11:42:57 PT