Here’s my first observation of Comet Pojmanski.

Before anything else, thanks for fellow ALPer Jun Lao for posting in the Phil Astronomy Forum Yahoogroups that a new comet is visible. As soon as I saw his post, I got so excited that I immediately asked questions. I then went to Space.COM as I’m pretty sure that they are almost always updated of such events and as expected, I found rough coordinates of where to find the comet. According to the Space.COM article, Comet Pojmanski would be visible at roughly 7 degrees to the left and slightly below of Venus on February 27. It’s only February 25 so I have to look around the vicinity if I were to spot the comet.

I went to a nearby village that will give me a close view of the horizon. The place was not too dark but I chose the place anyway. Venus was clearly visible with the moon roughly on it’s 4o’clock position. The sky was pretty bright because of the moon and the dawn was starting to take it’s toll on visibility. It was 4:30 in the morning. I scanned the sky. It took me 20 minutes before I spotted the comet. Yes, it took me that long partly because of the moonlight and partly because I was too overexcited.

Gotcha!

“Gotcha!” was the exact word I said. It was about 8 to 9 degrees below Venus – almost exactly at 6o’clock position. It was pretty beautiful. The nucleus was visible in the middle of a diffuse coma. A short but distinct tail was also visible extending to it’s upper right. It seems to have a bluish color but I’m not really sure. I spent about 15 minutes observing it until the sky started to get bluer and bluer. It was 5:05am. I estimate the comet’s brightness to be at Magnitude +5. I wanted to photograph it but I know it’s not easy. And of course, I don’t have the equipment yet. Tomorrow, I will try to sketch it and post it here.

So to the rest of you guys, it’s comet watching season again!!!

Related Links:

• Comet Pojmanski Visible to the Naked Eye
• Comet Pojmanski by Eric Africa
• Comet Pojmanski goes higher and higher
• See it Now: New Comet Brightens Rapidly @ Space.COM
• A Surprise Comet in the Dawn @ Sky and Telescope
• Astronomical League of the Philippines