Date Time: December 31, 2016 1730-1820 hrs
Weather: Breezy, partly clear with thin clouds passing by, very cold -8 C with windchill of -11 C.
Equipment: Canon Rebel Xsi with 18-55 mm and 75-300 mm lenses, 20x80 binoculars and tripod.
Objective: To view and image Comet 45P Honda which was suppose to be near a Crescent Moon, low in the west after sundown.
Report:
- Once dark, a thin crescent moon, Venus and Mars made a diagonal line across the south western sky.
- Neptune is very close to Mars now, it shows up in the eyepiece as a very small pale blue disk that is difficult to discern from nearby stars.
- A thin layer of clouds moved in shortly after 1730 hrs, covering the western sky and the Moon.
- By 1800 hrs the sky had cleared enough to start searching for the comet. Scanned all around the Moon, especially to the left of the Moon, which is where it was suppose to be. Could not see the comet or any trace of it through the binoculars.
- Took images and couldn't see it in the view screen either. Not until images were processed did the very faint grey fuzzy object become visible right where it was suppose to be.
- No shooting stars or satellites were seen.
Images:
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