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Here is the amazing orbital motion of Comet/2024G3 around the sun as seen by the C3 coronagraph on SOHO

On close inspection of the above mentioned cell phone pics they are of the C/2023 A3 comet and NOT C/2024 G3. (Bummer!)

I was out in and north of Root River Park and had a good view of the setting sun.  I observed for an hour but was unable to see the comet with the naked eye or with my 10×50 binoculars however I did capture a cell phone image of it (I just looked now at the images!).  I’ll put them in the next post.

Maybe 4:45 to 5 pm today we’ll get a chance to see the comet?

Comet Atlas g3 still going strong! Below is SOHO C3 animation over the last 2 days

C/2024 G3 is still intact in SOHO C3 images from today.

Sungrazing Comet ATLAS (C/2024 G3) has just entered the field of view of SOHO’s C3 coronagraph (see image below).  Should be great viewing of the comet’s fiery passage near the sun.

Our Reflector magazine for December 2024 has a cover topic “A FLYING SAUCER IN CETUS”.  I wondered if this might  be referring to the near edge on galaxy NGC 1055 that I noticed when observing and photographing M77.  Sure enough!  On page 5 and 6, NGC 1055 is pictured and described by author Dr. James R. Dire as looking like a flying sau…[Read more]

Glorious M42 (Orion Nebula) returns to our skies!  The image below is the first one taken with my 6 inch Quattro f/4 reflector of M42 as one can tell from the spikes on the brighter stars due to the secondary mirror supports.  82, 5 second frames were stacked and contrast stretched.

Comet 2023 A3 was 1/10th of a degree from the star Alya, a beautiful double and the tail star of Serpens on 11/22 but cloudy skies prevented viewing until last night (11/25). The comet was about 2 degrees away from Alya then and so I used this star to find the comet. Alya is nicely split in a small telescope (22 arcseconds apart); both components…[Read more]

Whoops, the above photo is from 11/27 and not the 26th.  Nineteen 5 second frames were stacked.  A satellite crossed just below the comet in one of the early frames.

Getting out 11/26 before the clouds, rain and cold prevent viewing.  Wanted another view and photo of C/2023 A3 as it appeared near an isolated star SAO 123928 in Serpens.  Upon viewing the 6.3 mag star I could see the comet (mag 8.1) a half degree away.  Below is a stack image of the encounter.

Motion of C/2023 A3 over a 24 hr. period from 11-6 to 11-7 2024.  The comet has moved about 1 degree further from the star 74 Oph’s (bright star at bottom of image) position and it’s brightness has attenuated about 0.14 magnitude.

Another one of C/2023 A3!  The star 74 Oph (SAO 123377) was used to locate the comet.  The comet shines at around 5.0 magnitude.

I can bring my laser collimator to the meeting (it is an inexpensive one, $21 on Amazon) that works well with my 6 inch f/4 scope.  Might try it and if it also works with Colin’s scope he can get one for himself.  With reflectors, it’s a good idea to check collimation every time you observe.

Comet C/2023 A3 among the stars of Ophiuchus (R) this evening (10-27).  Some stars are identified with their magnitude and SAO number or just their magnitude. Left part of the image is courtesy Stellarium.

Probably however, the comet will be consumed by the sun in its closest approach. https://spaceweather.com/.  The latest SOHO image shows a small comet approaching the sun.

That gif file looks poorly up close.  Below is a reduced PNG file instead.

Observing last night from my observatory.  The SW sky isn’t too light polluted and the comet was viewed and photographed from 8 to 9 pm.  Was using my 6 inch 150P Quattro scope and ZWO183 MC camera and Sky Watcher HEQ5 Pro mount.  Stacked six 5 second frames.  The image below is a relative closeup of the comet when it was near star SAO 122368 in Ophiuchus.

Tonight (10/23), viewing from dark skies in NE Wisconsin near Trego, comet C/2023 A3 is a naked eye object in the middle of Ophiuchus.  The comet is glorious in binoculars.  It is about 12 degrees below Rasalhague and 8 degrees or so above the two globular stars clusters M10 and M12.  I estimate the tail at 8-10 degrees and it appears intact in sp…[Read more]