Last night was just wall to wall clear Dark Skies. Simply perfect. Comet Ikeya-Zhang was stunning, reminding Graham C of Comet Bennett from 1970. Although not quite as bright it was classic last night in every respect. The view through the MIA 20x100 bins and the two 18 inch and 16 inch Dobo's was reminiscent of the sketches made in past centuries of comets. You could even stretch the imagination to see smoke and flame associated with the long and obvious tail. The position of bright stars along the length of the tail made it look longer than it was, adding to the effect. The photos at left show some of the folks at Llyn B. Sixteen observers from Liverpool, Chester and Altrincham arrived in 13 cars and had a total of 10 telescopes. Many wet chemical photos were taken and Graham C hopes to have a shot of Ikeya-Zhang in the same field as M31! Here's hoping. Others went to Siddington and/or Gradbach. Reports are expected to come in soon from where ever people were. Watch this space.
P.S. The best bits for Graham C, after the comet, were M51, mag 9, through the Liverpool Dobo and the "Treo in Leo" (sic) M65,66, NGC3628, mag 10, through Paul Clark's OBSESSION Dobo. Phil Masding was out imaging galaxies Saturday and e-mailed Graham C the image of M51 seen at left. Graham thinks the image looks "just like the real thing!"
by Unknown ADAS member