Astronomy Down Under

Still the comet

20 Jan at 14:58 by Wilson

Observers in the southern hemisphere are reporting unbelievably beautiful apparitions of comet McNaught every night. The tail is very long and broken into several separate strands, and the comet is definitely not losing brightness as quickly as it was expected. Also, it is significantly further away from the Sun than it was earlier in the week, so it can be seen against much darker skies. The picture shown here was taken yesterday in New Zealand with an 8-second exposure (click on the photo to see a larger version).

Meanwhile, I can report that it is still raining in Melbourne. The forecast calls for showers today and tomorrow, with an unbroken cloud cover, and “clearing showers” on Monday. Maybe it’ll still be up…