Date: Sun, 09 Mar 1997 13:28:04 -0500 From: Peter Nicholl Subject: Hale-Bopp/Messier Evening Sender: owner-astro@lists.mindspring.com Yesterday evening, Saturday was not supposed to be clear according to the weather forecast - so what's new - but turned out to be a beautifully clear but cold night. I was surprised to see the comet that high in the NW. It seems to have brightened considerably since I last saw it in the morning of Feb. 18. The tail is obvious to the naked eye and is a great sight in binoculars, at least 3 deg long. I headed out to the observatory for a better look through the 6" refractor - wow! The bright jet to the SW is still just as prominent but I noticed a new feature, a detached bright arc separated from the jet - looks like a bow wave. The tail still looks about 3 deg in the telescope, same as binoculars. After gawking at HB for half an hour or so, I reflected that Messier marathon season is here although a little early. My first effort, 2 years ago, ended at 2am. too tired and hungry to continue but I did track down about 60 of them. Last year, I planned a little better but the night (thin crescent moon) and the weather (a few clouds in the wrong places) were not ideal. It was March 23/24. My log showed 93 Ms. Most of the ones missed were morning objects but the moon denied me M110 and M33. I have given up on M74. Last night, conditions should have been ideal - new moon, early in the season and nice clear night but even though I know exactly where to look, I still can't see it that low in the sky. Anyway with the temperature at -14=B0C and the predawn forecast not looking good, I decided to delay my next attempt till April, a bit late but should be warmer and a little better for the pre-dawn objects. However, I couldn't resist chasing a few from memory: M1,45,44,77,37,36,38,46,47,50,35,41,31,32,110,78,42,43,103,79,34,76,93,48 I forgot all about M33, which should have been easy and decided I needed the atlas for M52. My fingers were feeling numb by this stage so I retreated to the house for hot chocolate, toast and marmite - yummy. Good hunting, Peter 44N 80:35W