Did Comet Machholz Lack a Visible Tail?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the visibility of comet Machholz, specifically whether it exhibited a visible tail during recent observations. Participants share their personal viewing experiences and observations using various telescopes and equipment.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested
  • Experimental/applied

Main Points Raised

  • One participant observed comet Machholz through a 3.5" refractor and noted a lack of a visible tail, only seeing the nucleus and coma.
  • Another participant, using a 10" Dobsonian, reported a similar observation, describing the comet as having no tail and comparing its appearance to the Andromeda galaxy.
  • A different participant mentioned that while they did not see a tail, they speculated that what is perceived as a tail might actually be a very short one offset from the nucleus.
  • One participant shared a composite image taken over several seconds, which also showed no visible tail, attributing a streak in the image to a star behind the comet.
  • Finder charts were provided for tracking the comet's movement, indicating its path over the coming days.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree that comet Machholz does not appear to have a visible tail based on their observations. However, there are differing interpretations regarding the presence of a very short tail and its visibility through smaller telescopes.

Contextual Notes

Observations are limited by the equipment used, with some participants using smaller telescopes that may not capture faint features of the comet. There is also mention of discrepancies in visibility based on different observational conditions.

Physicsisfun2005
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I spotted comet Machholz tonight in my backyard (basically a full moon) with my small scope (3.5" Refractor)...mainly b/c i didn't feel like bringing out the big boy. Is is me or i did not see much of a tail (really not a tail at all)...just the nucleus and the coma around it??...magnification when i observed was 40x. This observation was just about the same in description as comet neat a few months ago and i was looking through a 16" SCT...granted the image was brighter and the nucleus well defined.
 
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Physicsisfun2005 said:
I spotted comet Machholz tonight in my backyard (basically a full moon) with my small scope (3.5" Refractor)...mainly b/c i didn't feel like bringing out the big boy. Is is me or i did not see much of a tail (really not a tail at all)...just the nucleus and the coma around it??...magnification when i observed was 40x. This observation was just about the same in description as comet neat a few months ago and i was looking through a 16" SCT...granted the image was brighter and the nucleus well defined.
I saw it a few days ago - not much to it from an ETX-105.
 
I just looked at it tonight (jan 1st). Doesn't look like much for me either in my 10" dobsonian. not really any tail. It looked almost like andromeda but a more pronounced nucleus and more circular.
 
sporff said:
I just looked at it tonight (jan 1st). Doesn't look like much for me either in my 10" dobsonian. not really any tail. It looked almost like andromeda but a more pronounced nucleus and more circular.
Last night for me too. Basically, the view through binoculars wasn't much different than you described. But, did you (anyone) notice that the bright, pinpoint-like nucleus is not centered in the "apparent sphere"? Actually, most of what we are seeing is a tail, but just a very short one offset away from the sun from the nucleus. An internet photo I saw two days ago does show both a dust and a gas tail, but very thin and probably not visable through our "small stuff" yet except in long exposure photos.
 
NASA finder charts

Here are finder charts. Use chart #3 for this time period. Basically during the next week or two, Machholz will travel about South to North, passing just to the West of the Pieades around January 8th/9th.

http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/charts.html
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I took the attached pic last night. Its a composite of roughly 50 images of 10 and 15 seconds. There's no tail to speak of (the comet passed in front of a star, and that's what the streak is behind it).
 

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