Last night we finally (FINALLY! KHAAAN!) got a clear night with which to see Comet McNaught. Along with a whole lot of young and old people (the 18-39 demographic was predictably missing) we headed to the south coast (and places high up) to view the comet. What a difference a week makes. The comet that last Friday rivalled Venus for brightness was now much fainter. Though still easily visible with the naked eye, it was only a shade brighter than the orion nebula, though much larger. Indeed the tail stretched a good 4 or 5 degrees across the sky. It would have stretched a lot further but a half-moon was obscuring fainter detail.
Not long after we spotted the comet, we went home so we could check it out with my Woolworths telescope. It was looking good, with both tails visible. Even so, I'm still a bit disappointed I wasn't able to get a good gander at it in all its glory. What can you do, eh?
Posted by stuart at January 28, 2007 8:20 AM