I looked this AM but there was a thin cloud layer in the Northern sky and I was able to distinguish some stars, but not enough to give me reference as to the area I was looking at. It SHOULD be easy to find because before dawn it is underneath the Big Dipper. But you have to be able to see enough stars to tell that you are looking at the Dipper.

I checked my sky map and 5:22 AM EST is when the dipper is highest. It's in a great spot for me because North looks down my street and minimizes the trees on the horizon.

I was using 10x60 binocs

This is one reason I slowed down my Astronomy hobby. The skies around here are usually cloudy or hazy when I want to see something.

PS I did catch a meteor while I was looking at the sky. Consolation prize.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I keep forgetting to look. The 7x50s' are ready.

next few days should be better
NW right after Sunset

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Compact 9mm Just my $0.02

It has been cloudy every morning here since I started looking for it a few days ago. But yesterday evening was clear enough that I finally found it through binoculars, about an hour after sunset and very low in the NW, barely above the trees. I was on the roof of my house. It was only barely visible to the naked eye. Exposures of 8 seconds at ISO3200 and 13 seconds at ISO1600 it showed up okay through my camera (Panasonic FZ1000). Very difficult to get a good focus when everything is dark!








Climbing to the peak of my roof and looking back to the east, Jupiter (and its moons) and Saturn were prominent in the sky, just to the left of the teapot in Sagittarius.

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PS I did catch a meteor while I was looking at the sky. Consolation prize.

In stargazing terminology, I think that would be a constellation prize.

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protocalldesign.com

Too much smoke from wildfires.

I'll catch it next time around.

Too much light pollution here. I wish I could see it though. I was hoping it would be visible to the naked eye, but apparently binoculars are highly recommended.

Hale-Bopp was the most spectacular comet I've seen.

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Common sense isn't so common.

It's only a 6000 year wait. There will be other comets though.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

...but Hyukutake was HUGE.

Wasn't Hale Bopp also the carrier of the Heaven's Gate crowd to the cosmos?

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I have looked twice, tonight at 10:13pm in Reno............
still no luck.

Lots of stars but no comets. Is there a "Best time" ?

thanks

I just viewed it about an hour ago here in San Diego. Very bright with a well defined tail. I was using a pair of 9X63 binos.

10:30 is too late, try shortly after twilight around 9ish, and only about 5* to 8* above the NW to NNW horizon.

Best regards,

...and about an hour before dawn. You want a time when the Big Dipper is the highest in the sky. My calculations are clumsy for Nevada, but that's what you need to look for. It's right under the Dipper but wil move some each day.

You can try to catch it at night after sunset.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Same thin cloud cover in the North (only) except it was heavier and couldn't make out any stars. I'll try this PM.

I used to get GREAT skies here, but something has changed. Always hazy or cloudy. Warmer temperatures probably don't help. I had good skies year round, but those cold, clear Winter nights were spectacular.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Our skies up here are crystal clear, if not cloud covered. We're ready to get the binocs out Sunday night; supposed to be the best time. Years ago we got some very good views of Hale-Bopp; it looked like it was going backwards.

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John

Here is a screenshot from the program Stellarium (free for download, Google it). I had the time zone wrong on the program, it indicates 11:24pm but the sky shown is actually for 9:24pm in Reno. NEOWISE would be about 15 degrees above the N-NW horizon for you then - exact time is not crucial. By 10:30 it's only about 7 degrees above the horizon but the sky will be darker. Use binoculars.

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I think so. Hyukutake was a good one too. I think it passed very close to the earth.

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Common sense isn't so common.

I live in Western PA, Pittsburgh, and I swear every time something exciting is happening in the sky, like meteor showers and comets, it's cloudy outside. Murphy's law applies to me quite often. I DID see, (I think it was Hailey's Comet?) about maybe 25 years ago. I lived out in the country at the time. We're supposed to get rain later on so I guess tonight is a no go for me. I suppose I can wait 7000 years for it to come around again. There will be others I suppose. I hope some of you get to see it. Star-gazing is cool if you have a nice clear night. Winter seems to be the best around here. Less humidity maybe.

Very visible about 4 AM.

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Front sight and squeeze

Ditto for Northern Illinois. Rain, rain, clouds, rain.

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SWCA #3356, SWHF#611

Those cold, clear nights would find me sitting in the back yard with a blanket around me with only the top of the telescope sticking out. Good to keep lights out of you eyes, too.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Another shot from tonight July 16. I realized that there is a spot in my yard that has a pretty good unobstructed view to the NW so I can just sit in a lawn chair on the ground. But, it's 81 degrees and the humidity is 96%! Tends to make my lenses fog. Plus mosquitoes!

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Saw it tonight! With 12X50 binoculars was quite the sight! Nice tail visible. About 9:45 PM mountain time from 4900' elevation out in the wilds of the Hills!

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Wherever my mind isn't
Jim

Last Sunday the wife and I rolled out of bed at 2:30 am and headed to the top of a local canyon. The goal was to get a few photos of the comet. Mission accomplished.

These photos were taken at 9500 ft. elevation about 20 miles south of town and away from the city lights.

click on the images to see at full posted size.

first photo taken at 3:22 AM



3:55am



4:00 am

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Bill Bates

Spectacular images!

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I told you not to use Lifebuoy

Tried again last night at 9:24pm.......

no luck, too many darn clouds in the area !!

The clouds have been thin and a star peeps out every so often, but if you can't make out the Big Dipper and the North star, it's not much use.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

..****nning right. I feel like I've got a little more handle on what's happening when and I know more precisely where to look IF I can get a clear sky.

Whew. I had no mouse pointer on the screen and had to find a fix for that. If I had not found it, I was ready to ditch Stellarium.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Best view I've had of the comet was on last night's TV news. Not sure what they used, but it was a very good view. I remember seeing Hale-Bopp through my spotting scope.

Great post. Thanks for reminding me.
Some great pictures fellas.

Viewed it again tonight and it looked even better than the other night.

I was able to see the Dipper tonight so I was able to use some of it's stars as pointers, but the area where the comet was was hazy. So I took pictures, just in case. I see my exposures were way too short and all I got were black images. I tried brightening and adding contrast, but again, exposures were too short. Maybe I'll get a chance to try again.

It seems that in manual mode my Nikon Coolpix A900 is limited to ISO 899.

At least I now know exactly how to find it IF I can get a clear night.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

We saw it clearly last night out over Lake Michigan @ about 22:00 hours.
The image below from Sky & Telescope will help you know where to look the next few days.

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You're shy a few manners.

Just got back from seeing it.

Took no picture though.

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Expect the unexpected

Heading out now for another look. Enjoy it while you can because it never lasts long enough.