Astronomy

Observing Log for

Session Details


David Stirling Memorial

56.1793, -4.0109

150m

Notes

A mild night with cloud moving through on a brisk westerly wind.

Observations

Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE

After an unsuccessful hour spent looking over the Ochil Hills from near Forestmill, I relocated to the David Stirling Memorial west of Bridge of Allan. It only took a couple of minutes after arrival for a sizeable gap in the clouds to appear and Comet NEOWISE to become clearly visible. In contrast to the previous evening there was very little Noctilucent Cloud activity so the views of the comet were more distinct.

Comet NEOWISE appeared lighter in colour with the tail stretching out further. It was a beautiful sight. I soon had the camera and telescope trained on it and was able to capture a series of wide field and detailed images of the comet, the conditions much better than the previous night.

During the observation period clouds came and went. In one prolonged cloud spell I observed Saturn and Jupiter low on the south, as well as Mars rising high in the east. The moon was a bright light over the Ochil Hills.

Eventually, like the previous evening, dawn caught up on me and the comet disappeared into the brightening sky. I packed up and headed home.

Comet C/2020 F3 NEOWISE - July 12th 2020

Images