BACK

COMET RISE OVER NORTHERN IRELAND

This morning I made my second observation of great comet Mc Naught. I set my alarm for 07.00 UT, wrapped up quickly and headed outside with my gear and set up on an elevated position near 'Willow Glynn', Maghera. I waited for the comet to rise however when it did a slow moving cloud blocked my view, meanwhile the sky was brightening fast and I was worried that I would never see it. At 08.00 UT the clouds parted down the middle and I could see this great comet low on the eastern horizon with the naked eye complete with dust tail. It was an incredible sight! I took perhaps 30 images over a 5 minute period at ISO 100, 1/10th sec exp at 10X optical zoom before the clouds covered the spectacle. I headed home feeling delighted. It was a wonderful sight along with Jupiter underlined by the rose coloured glow of approaching sunrise. READ REPORT

Martin Mc kenna