💾 Archived View for koyu.space › mrael2_obsv › sessions › 2021 › 2021-12-05.gmi captured on 2023-12-28 at 16:27:03. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content
⬅️ Previous capture (2022-06-03)
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Date: 2021-12-05
Time: 5:00 AM - 5:45 AM
Seeing: I
Transparency: 7
I left the 10-inch reflector out overnight and woke up early to view Comet C/2021 A1 (Leonard).
First at 84x, the core appeared bright and diffuse between two stars in the field of view:
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Then at 42x I was able to observe the astonishingly long tail. With averted vision, the tail filled the entire field of view at 42x, about 0.5 degree.
Over the course of 45 minutes, I saw the comet move significantly against the background stars to this point:
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Also on this Sunday morning at around 5:30 AM, the Zodiacal light on the eastern horizon was particularly bright. The pyramid of light contrasted greatly with the dark sky, and I was truly mesmerized by it.
With 7x50 binoculars, I viewed Melotte 111, which is spectacular! It is visible to the naked eye as a lovely fuzzy patch "behind" the tail of Leo.
Also through binoculars I viewed M45 in the west, and I split Mizar and Alcor in Ursa Major.
And although I have not been recording the observations, I have been using the 7x50 binoculars to view Mars shortly after it rises each morning. I've done this for the past week as we've had clear morning skies for many days. The planet's red color is very pleasing!