Comet C/2006 P1 McNaught *very* bright as seen from Norway

Hi all,

It has rained all day, but this afternoon there was a sudden break and the
sky was crystal clear.

As I walked home from work at 16:35 local time (15:35 UT) I observed Comet
C/2006 P1 McNaught easily naked eye from Høvik (20km south of Oslo, Norway)
about 15-20 degrees above the south-western horizon. A spectacular sight! I
pointed it out to people passing by and they were quite surprised.

The comet core appeared *very* bright, similar to Venus, but it also had a
tail! The tail pointed roughly towards the north. The background sky was
very bright so it is a bit hard to judge the magnitude. I attribute the
bright core to a forward scattering effect, as the comet head seemed
somewhat dimmer just a few minutes later.

I didn't have a camera at hand, but this would have been a simple snapshot
target.

As I drove home on the motorway it was easy to see the comet through a dirty
windshield and between the lights on the motorway. When I got home 30
minutes later, the comet had set behind my local horizon. So no image...

Clear skies
Carsten A. Arnholm
http://arnholm.org/
N59.776 E10.457