Greetings:
For reasons only an astronomer
(professional or amateur) would understand, I got
in the car at around 9:00 pm and drove to an open
field around 25 miles south of Erie, PA. The glow
of the Erie city was north of the ridge that runs
along I90 as I chose an ice-covered hilltop from
which to hunt for and hopefully photograph comet
Lulin.
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observin ... 92534.html
Clear skies in Erie are rare enough that the
trip was worth the effort. Melanie braved the 13
degree air to ride along with me, although she wisely
remained in the car with the heater running whilst
I got out to do my comet viewing.
Astronomy websites advised that Lulin should be
visible with the naked eye. Maybe someone with better
eyesight than me could see it, but it required the
assistance of my 7x35mm binoculars to find it. Fortunately,
Lulin's position near a readily identifiable group
of stars at the rear of Leo, and especially with
Saturn's presence, made finding the fuzzy blob easy
enough.
The Minolta and tripod were
nearby for an attempt to photograph Lulin, but since
its timer will only keep the "shutter" open for
60 seconds, and because the comet was so faint,
I figured it would not be worth the trouble. I'll
have to leave the breathtaking images to the people
with real motorized telescopes and cameras built
for the job.
