COMET & NEARBY OBJECTS

Location:  Prince of Wales, NB, Canada

Date time:  Aug 30, 2024 2050-2200hrs

Weather:  Clear, warm, lots of dew, some mosquitoes, blackflies and fireflies.  Temps stayed around 15C, 82% humidity and no wind.

Equipment:  Canadian telescopes 80 ed/apo with Canon rebel attached.  Also with 19mm eyepiece.  Images processed on PhotoShop.

Objective:  To view and image Comet 13P Olbers which was reported to be 7.9 magnitude, low in the western sky, to the north of Arcturus in Coma Berenices.

Report:

• Comet was nicely placed for observing and imaging.  Total darkness not until after 2130.
• Comet was very dim, about the same as nearby Globular Cluster M53 which is thought to be about Mag 8.33.  Visually, using 19mm eyepiece, comet showed up as a faint grayish blob with a pin prick starlike central region.
• Also imaged Arcturus and M3(bright Globular Cluster Mag 6.3), plus two objects closer to the comet, M53 & M64(Black Eye Galaxy magnitude 9.36).  Viewed these two nearby objects for magnitude comparison and found M53 to be near identical in brightness.  M64 was too faint to pick out in eyepiece. 
• All images are 30s, ISO 1600.
• Fireflies started about 2125 for about 10 mins.  I thought they were shooting stars initially.  Many satellites were seen.

Arcturus, Greek for "keeper or guardian of the bear", referring to nearby constellation Ursa Major.  One of the brightest stars seen from Earth,

Messier M3 is magnitude 6.2.  Image taken shortly after 2100hrs during twilight.

Comet 13P Olbers reported Mag 7.9

Messier M53 mag 8.33

Messier M64 mag 9.36

PERSEIDS & AURORAS (Updated)

Location:  Prince of Wales, NB, Canada

Date Time:  Aug 11, 2024 2200-0045hrs

Weather:  Partly cloudy to mostly clear, no wind, haziness giving way to areas of clear, warm giving turning cool, 17c, 82% humidity.  Dew was a factor and there were some mosquitoes for the first 2 hours.

Objective:  To observe the Perseid Meteor Shower which was due to peak at midnight.  The constellation of Perseus was low in the north eastern sky and rising during observing time.

Report:  

• First hour from 2200-2300hrs we seen 9 meteors, including 1 sporadic.  We both watched in the same direction, to the south east to zenith.  The summer triangle was great as a reference location.  Many meteors going towards the triangle or underneath it.
• For the second hour I got my camera out and started taking images of the northern sky, mostly, trying to capture a meteor.  Took many images of Ursa Major, in northern sky, Arcturus in western, Sagittarius in southern and Cassiopeia in North Eastern sky.  We observed 11 meteors over the second hour, all being Perseids.  I seen many go above, through and below Ursa Major with a few going below Arcturus.
• Shortly after midnight, the meteor showers peak, Ed noticed a patch of color across the northern horizon.  I checked spaceweather.com aurora oval, and sure enough! a major geometric storm was under way!  Norther Lights!  As I was attempting to capture the impressively large, sustained aurora display, we seen an increase in meteor activity to the north west and below Cassiopeia.  These meteors were shorter, but just as bright, as if they were coming straight at us. These meteors were also coming straight from the constellation Perseus.
• Altogether, we seen 30 meteors over 2.75 hours with most being Perseids, long bright steaks with smoke trails.  Included in this was 1 bolide, which streaked across Northern sky, coming straight from the Perseus constellation itself, at approximated 0020hrs.  The northern lights display was spectacular and sustained for well over 30 minutes.  It went from the north west western sky all the way across to the north east eastern sky!  There were also bands that seemed to go all the way overhead into the southern sky!  A truly wonderful experience!

Aurora near Arcturus.

Perseid streaks over Arcturus & Auroras.