Comet C/2018 W2 Africano Well Placed for Friday Night

[nigeljoslin]

Hello folks, an alert... ...Comet Comet C/2018 W2 Africano is apparently small, but will be well placed for observation on Friday night, between Mirach and Delta Andromedae....see attached prediction from Heaven's Above (for 10 o'clock Friday night). It has brightened to around mag 9 now, and is hoped to brighten to mag eightish by the end of the month, when it will be visible in Pegasus during the evening and all night. Apparently, it should remain well placed for observation until mid October.

It would be nice to catch the first comet of the new season, even if it is a tiddler!

[nigeljoslin]

Yes! Success! I saw the comet, last night.

I must say it was about the most diminutive comet sight I have ever seen, but I found it fairly quickly in the 14 inch Dobbie under good conditions (mag 6ish, despite the warm southerly breeze and impending horizonal moonlight). M31 and the Sword Handle Double Cluster were visible to the naked eye.

The comet first appeared as a small nebulous ball (about 6 mins of arc) at 66x. The view was improved with the addition of a UHC filter. I upped the magnification to a maximum of 200x and then settled on 110x with the UHC filter.

The comet basically appeared as a small dot surrounded by an oval of nebulosity. The hint of a fanning tail kept flirting with my vision, but I can't be sure; it was at the limit of discernablity.

Nice to see the comet, though, even if it didn't blow my socks off. And it is set to brighten.

Happy observing,

Nigel

[mike a feist]

Unfortunately far to faint for my small spotting scopes! Regards maf.

[nigeljoslin]

You're not missing much, Mike! Let's hope we get some better comets soon.

Best wishes,

Nigel

[nigeljoslin]

Saw the comet again, yesterday morning at about half past midnight. Am I imagining it, or is it becoming even more spritely? Dropping towards Pisces now; that's the trouble, it will start to get low in the sky very soon.

It appeared a little brighter, this time. Still just a hint of a tail, but fanning quite widely, I think, 45 degrees plus on either side. The bright centre region seemed surrounded by some grainy bits, at 200x magnification.

I doubt I'll get another decent look, now that it is heading horizonward.

[nigeljoslin]

Comet much lower in the sky, now, below the lower of the two fish asterisms. It's goodbye time, for me.

I noticed some fulsome, buttery meteors streaking across the sky. Early Draconids?

[HARRY WISE]

I looked for the comet on the 3rd October with no luck. Cartes du Ciel showed it to be close to beta Pegasi so should have been easy to find, but of course it was actually in Pisces. Has anyone else notice this discrepancy or have I got it wrong?

Harry

[Brian]

Yes, I think that discrepancy was also reported/discussed on SGL ,

regards,

[nigeljoslin]

I can't seem to get comets on my Cart Du Ceil, despite having the `comets' box ticked.

Heaven's Above served me well, though.

Cheers,

Nigel

[HARRY WISE]

Brian, thank you for your reply which set my mind at rest. By the way what is SGL that you made reference to?

[Brian]

HiHarry.

SGL is "StarGazers Lounge". A members search returns 62,789 hits . Worth a look,

https://stargazerslounge.com/

[HARRY WISE]

Hi Nigel,

It can be difficult to see the icon for comets, a blue tail, I have found that it is necessary to zoom in on the comet to see it. After updating the comet element I then search for the object which is then shown with a name label. Perhaps the comet icon should be more prominent.

[nigeljoslin]

Thanks for the tip, Harry; I'll try that. And sorry about the lateness of my reply; I've been away.