Pooh dooh!--BUT, I must admit I was unimpressed compared to the show I got at dusk at the Grand Canyon on April 7. It's definitely dimming. I was in Chesler Park, having run there in the dark for a pre-dawn 10-miler in The Needles, and I didn't pack my binos. Figured I could catch the comet from my backyard, as soon as the storms stop (Sunday morning?). BTW, I was looking in the right spot--just south of Cassio. Oh, well. Phil -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-admin@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-admin@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Joe Borgione Sent: Wednesday, April 17, 2002 6:09 PM To: utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Pre-Dawn Comet I just got back from a business trip down to Grand County spending a night in Moab. My standard operating procedure for overnight trips is to take my 15 x 70 binoculars and a tripod, so I can spend a little quality time in the dark. This morning (4-11-02) I got up around 4:00 am and set up in a fairly dark spot east of town, on the road to the popular mountain biking mecca, the SlickRock trail. I had a great view of the summer MilkyWay, especially my favorite looks into Sagtitarius. As I swept north though the MilkyWay, I came upon the comet that we've all enjoyed for the past few weeks. What a pleasant surprise. I knew it would be shifting to an early morning object, but until I actually saw it, I hadn't given it too much thought. It's a real looker at that hour; just to the east of Cassiopia, and when I saw it, very close to M52, a pretty open cluster. It was visable naked eye from the Moab spot as a fuzzy glob; you'll need a pretty good dark sky for that. If you liked the comet before sunset, it's worth the effort to get up early and see it with the back drop of the MilkyWay.... Joe Borgione _______________________________________________ Utah-astronomy mailing list Utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy