Observing the forgotten comet

Normally when a 9th magnitude comet appears it gets quite a bit of
attention as it is visible in just about any telescope. But with all
the interest in C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) and C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) such a comet has
gone pretty much unnoticed.

C/2003 K4 (LINEAR) is currently well positioned in the evening sky for
all but observers at far-southern latitudes. It currently lies about
half way between Vega and the head of Draco, appearing as a 9th
magnitude round spot about 2.5' in diameter.

I had a look last night and it is very pleasing; the main coma is bright
and easy to spot (I could see it in my 8x50 finder) and at the eyepiece
a larger, fainter halo surrounds the brighter coma. Look for something
at the eyepiece that is similar to the appearance of C/2001 (NEAT) in
binoculars.

So if you find yourself out observing in the next few days, don't forget
to have a look at this one. As always, finder charts and other info can
be found he

http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html

Clear skies,
Greg


--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools Software for the Observer:
http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html

Skyhound Observing Pages:
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html

To reply have a physician remove your spleen

Greg, thanks for the comet reminder! I went out in my backyard this
evening with my Tele Vue 76 and found all three of the comets you
mentioned.

At around 9:30pm local time comet C/2002 T7 LINEAR was pretty low in the
west. It was just barely brighter than the background skyglow and took a
while before i finally spotted it. Much easier was comet C/2001 Q4 NEAT
high in the north-west in Ursa Major. No problem at all seeing it
through my 4.5 mag or so skies. I didn't try with binoculars but i'm
sure it would have been visible, although not as dramatic as it was a
month or so ago. I waited till after 11:30pm to look for comet C/2003 K4
LINEAR high in the sky between Lyra and the head of Draco. I was
surprised to spot this mag 9 comet on my first glance through the
eyepiece. Round, and as you mentioned, like a small Q4.

This coming week i have some time off and i'm planning to visit the
White Mtns in eastern-central Calif for some really dark skies. ;-)

-Florian a stargazing o com

Who cares... g

Actually, thanks. I plan to be out back tonight with the 12.5" Starfinder,
and I'll be looking for it.

I think this is one of your most wonderful contributions to the hobby, and
to saa. It's right there with Sam telling us about Solar and Auroral
activities.

Please don't ever stop these reminders/announcements (either of you).

-Stephen Paul

"Greg Crinklaw" wrote in message
...

C/2003 K4 (LINEAR) is currently well positioned in the evening sky for
all but observers at far-southern latitudes. It currently lies about
half way between Vega and the head of Draco, appearing as a 9th
magnitude round spot about 2.5' in diameter.

I observed a woman taking her cloths off with my C8 at a distance of a few
miles.
Now that was NEAT

"Greg Crinklaw" wrote in message
...

Normally when a 9th magnitude comet appears it gets quite a bit of
attention as it is visible in just about any telescope. But with all
the interest in C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) and C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) such a comet has
gone pretty much unnoticed.

C/2003 K4 (LINEAR) is currently well positioned in the evening sky for
all but observers at far-southern latitudes. It currently lies about
half way between Vega and the head of Draco, appearing as a 9th
magnitude round spot about 2.5' in diameter.

Thanks to Greg's mention here I got great views of 3 comets last night. I
can't remember the last time I could do three (fairly bright) comets in the
sky at the same time. A great time was had by all!

Also, I want to put in a shameless plug for Greg and his Sky Tools 2
software. I am embarking on a new observing plan (H400) and his software has
made creating custom charts for each object (including Telrad circles)
simplicity itself. Not to mention his outstanding customer support!!

Greg,

I observed K4 LINEAR last night through skies of only fair transparency
(north of New Orleans with a lot of humidity and light pollution) using a
5" refractor, and I was quite impressed. It really seemed quite brighter
than 9th magnitude, especially compared to other mag 8 and 10 extended
objects I was observing that night. Its dust tail was somewhat short but
very pronounced. I was intrigued how there were two somewhat faint stars
shining through the tail from behind. They scintillated with my averted
vision which gave some unusual depth to the appearance of the comet. I
also noted that it had a generous coma and halo around the nucleus.

Thank you very much for reminding us of this comet. I have posted my
detailed observing report on our club's board and have recommended K4 as an
excellent grab in the sky.

David Moody

Greg Crinklaw wrote:


Normally when a 9th magnitude comet appears it gets quite a bit of
attention as it is visible in just about any telescope. But with all
the interest in C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) and C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) such a comet has
gone pretty much unnoticed.

C/2003 K4 (LINEAR) is currently well positioned in the evening sky for
all but observers at far-southern latitudes. It currently lies about
half way between Vega and the head of Draco, appearing as a 9th
magnitude round spot about 2.5' in diameter.

I had a look last night and it is very pleasing; the main coma is bright
and easy to spot (I could see it in my 8x50 finder) and at the eyepiece
a larger, fainter halo surrounds the brighter coma. Look for something
at the eyepiece that is similar to the appearance of C/2001 (NEAT) in
binoculars.

So if you find yourself out observing in the next few days, don't forget
to have a look at this one. As always, finder charts and other info can
be found he

http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html

Clear skies,
Greg

Tride and failed, 10x50 bins...No show..
9x50 finder no show.

15 second exposure with digicam. Found it!
Used the picture as a reference to judge distances
and got it with the bins and scope(250 newt).

Exellent Smithers!!!

"Greg Crinklaw" wrote in message
...

Normally when a 9th magnitude comet appears it gets quite a bit of
attention as it is visible in just about any telescope. But with all
the interest in C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) and C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) such a comet has
gone pretty much unnoticed.

C/2003 K4 (LINEAR) is currently well positioned in the evening sky for
all but observers at far-southern latitudes. It currently lies about
half way between Vega and the head of Draco, appearing as a 9th
magnitude round spot about 2.5' in diameter.

I had a look last night and it is very pleasing; the main coma is bright
and easy to spot (I could see it in my 8x50 finder) and at the eyepiece
a larger, fainter halo surrounds the brighter coma. Look for something
at the eyepiece that is similar to the appearance of C/2001 (NEAT) in
binoculars.

So if you find yourself out observing in the next few days, don't forget
to have a look at this one. As always, finder charts and other info can
be found he

http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html

Clear skies,
Greg


--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools Software for the Observer:
http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html

Skyhound Observing Pages:
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html

To reply have a physician remove your spleen

Tride and failed, 10x50 bins...No show..
9x50 finder no show.

15 second exposure with digicam. Found it!
Used the picture as a reference to judge distances
and got it with the bins and scope(250 newt).

Exellent Smithers!!!

"Greg Crinklaw" wrote in message
...

Normally when a 9th magnitude comet appears it gets quite a bit of
attention as it is visible in just about any telescope. But with all
the interest in C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) and C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) such a comet has
gone pretty much unnoticed.

C/2003 K4 (LINEAR) is currently well positioned in the evening sky for
all but observers at far-southern latitudes. It currently lies about
half way between Vega and the head of Draco, appearing as a 9th
magnitude round spot about 2.5' in diameter.

I had a look last night and it is very pleasing; the main coma is bright
and easy to spot (I could see it in my 8x50 finder) and at the eyepiece
a larger, fainter halo surrounds the brighter coma. Look for something
at the eyepiece that is similar to the appearance of C/2001 (NEAT) in
binoculars.

So if you find yourself out observing in the next few days, don't forget
to have a look at this one. As always, finder charts and other info can
be found he

http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html

Clear skies,
Greg


--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)

SkyTools Software for the Observer:
http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html

Skyhound Observing Pages:
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html

To reply have a physician remove your spleen