Observation notes for September 9 and 10

 This is just a very short note. I had wanted to try to catch Comet Nishimura ( C/2023/P1). Days prior to this where it might have been more readily visible were cloudy in the morning. I also had my doubts about seeing it because the time when it would clear the Sapphires was getting close to dawn. 

I got up at 05:15 on Sept 9 and took out the 12x50 Nikon binoculars. I didn't think I'd have time to set up the telescope before the comet came up. Using the Sky Tonight app on my phone I was able to orient myself to the approximate location where it would come up. Using Venus as a reference point, I was able to locate the comet almost as soon as it came over the mountains. The comet was not visible to the naked eye with the sky starting to lighten. It definitely showed as more than a pinpoint, slightly fuzzy in outline. At time it seemed to have a very faint blue-green tint.  Other nearby stars were very sharp, verifying that the fuzziness wasn't due to being out of focus or bad seeing. I couldn't make out the tail. Once Regulus came up I used it and the app on my phone to double  check that what I was looking at was actually the comet

I knew that the following morning would be marginal if possible at all. The comet is even closer to the sun, and would be rising closer to daylight. I set up the telescope this morning. Since Venus was well up, I looked at it before aiming for the comet. In the 25mm eyepiece a definite crescent shape was visible.

After looking at Venus I aimed the scope as close as I could determine to where the comet should appear over the mountains. Even though I scanned the area slowly, I was never able to pick up the comet.

 



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