Comet Tempel 1

Observing from Tierra del Sol, CA (right on the border, about 60 miles
east of San Diego) last night, I saw Comet Tempel 1 (the "deep impact"
comet). It is actually rather large and round, and of quite low surface
brightness. It was an averted-vision object in the 11". Right now the
comet is in the same field as the 12th magnitude galazy NGC 4845 (approx
1/2 deg east and south of the galaxy). The galaxy is also low surface
brightness, long and elliptical, but it is actually easier to see than
the comet, which appears larger than it. If you are able to find that
galaxy, you should be able to see Comet Tempel, if you have at least 10"
or so of aperture and decent dark skies. I had them both in the same
wide-angle field.

With the "deep impact" coming up, if people go looking for that comet
with small scopes, they're probably going to be disappointed. Let's hope
that the impact brightens it considerably, so people who set up to see
it will not be disappointed......


--
Robert Sheaffer - User name "Roberto" at debunker-dot-com
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