BRIEF COMET HYAKUTAKE REPORTS
--------------------------
John Pazmino
NYSkies Astronomy Inc
www.nyskies.org
nyskies@nyskies.org
1996 May 1
[Besides the full accounts in this EYEPIECE, readers sent in brief
notes about the Comet [Hyakutake]. Here they are!, arranged
alphabeticly. The one grand and infuriating impediment against seeing
Hyakutake was the fickle weather around the City, typical for this
early spring period [of 1996]. It's true: If you don't like it, wait
an hour. Hence, We got seemingly discordant accounts from the same
night! One reader viewed in an hour when the sky was filled with
clouds or haze. The other went out in an other hour when the sky was
sparkling clear!]
Greg Afs, Philadelphia PA, went to Lake Nockamixon to see the
Comet on Wed 27 Nar 96. Altho hazy, he did see a nice tail with his
scope. How ever, neighbors were unimpressed; they liked the TV news
views better!
Annette Bartle basked under the Comet in 20s of Mar 96 as it
floated over her Lenox Hill MH penthouse. With 6x30s she saw the
bright core and fringe. She also saw it in mid Feb 96 from British
Virgin Is.
Annette Bartle and John Pazmino saw the Comet by eye 19:15 Wed 27
Mar 96. Seen from her Lenox Hill MH penthouse it was 1-1/2 as big as
the FQ Moon with fringe at 1 o'clock. They also used her lOOmm Sch-
Cass and 6x30s.
Annette Bartle particularly enjoyed Hyakutake when it sailed thru
star-filled Perseus 31 Mar-5 Apr 96. Stars shone thru the 1-deq tail!
She also followed Venus sliding by the Pleiades.
Arline Caldwell and Arnold Gold were struck crazy on Sat 23 Mar 96
when they traced the Comet's tail almost back to Arcturus! They viewed
tram Arline's Amagansett L! beachhouse with various binoculars.
Wendy Carlos and Annemarie Franklin were floored by Hyakutake from
their Union Sq MH rooftop. It was an obvious naked eye sight at 01:30
Sat-Sun 23-24 Mar 96 nearly overhead, including a short tail.
Gerald Cross and family went outside their Oak Ridge NJ house on
Sun 24 Mar 96 and saw the Comet clearly by eye and binoculars. They
were hampered by thin.clouds and saw only the elongated head.
Jack Dittrick's 'new' eye found the Comet from his house near
Queens Call, Flushing QN, in evening on Sun & Tue 24 & 26 Mar 96. It
was a shiny round glow easily visible above the surrounding
streetlights.
Joseph Enrico and wife studied the Comet from their Oceanside LI
house on Sun 24 Mar 96 with 10x50s. Altho the sky was hazy they
admired the Comet's short brushy tail and elongated coma.
Beau Gage viewed Hyakutake from her Upper Westchester country home
on 23-24 Mar 96. She invited friends over to watch its proper motion
hour-by-hour across the Big Dipper. Tail was about 40 deg long!
David Greenberg was smothered by thick clouds on Sat 23 Mar 96 in
late evening. Never the less from his Mount Kisco NY yard he did see
the Moon-size head with a hazy border.
Fernando Harris got a good view of the Comet against the North
Star at 21:00 Tue 26 Mar 96 from his Colonial Pk MH (near old Polo
Grounds) tenement. It was by eye a Moon-size cotton ball more fuzzy on
upper side.
Dave Lord saw Hyakutake with his S Florida A A A near Ft
Lauderdale FL evening Sat 16 Mar 96 by naked eye thru thin clouds!
Club's scopes and binocs showed developing tail structure and detail
in the huge coma.
Dave Lord tried from his Ft Lauderdale home on Tue & Wed 19 & 20
Mar 96. Thru haze and trashlights he could definitely see it by eye as
a fuzzball. But there was no hint of tail with Fujinon 14x70s. ,
Ambrose Moore tried from his Hamilton ON balcony on evening Sat 23
Mar 96. It was plainly visible by eye as a large soft patch. The local
industrial air pollution prevented any better views.
Dan Morgan and Felicia De La Mothe saw Hyakutake 21:00 Sun 24 Mar
96 from Dan's Park Slope BK rooftop. Thru thin clouds it was a
fuzzball a little larger than the Moon with a bright core. They viewed
with binocs.
Ben Mukherjee and wife went to a comet watch in Montclair NJ on
sat 23 Mar 96 run by Montclair St Call. From the hill top campus he
and the 100ish other visitors saw a short tail and bright head thru a
hazy sky.
David Nevin and Nancy Mohrmann were freaked out by the Comet's
proper motion, about 3 degrees in the several hours they watched on
Sat 23 Mar 96 from Dave's W Hempstead LI house. They used 7x50s and
200mm refl.
Michael O'Gara examined the Comet on Thu 21 Mar 96 from his
Cherokee MH rooftop. By eye it was a blurry star about 2-1/2 maqn.
Thru his new refl he saw the bright core and streamlining around it.
John Payne and wife viewed in evening Tue 26 Mar 96 from lakefront
park in Westchester Co, NY. To them the comet shimmered and the tail
had individual streamers. Their photos confirmed this impression.
Irv Robbins studied the Comet every clear night he could in Mar
96, after his Col of SI classes, from his Staten Is home. He captured
dozens of CCDgrams of it and processed them to show isophots around
the nucleus.
Paul Rondinone showed 30 Boy Scouts the comet from Pound Ridge NY
on Sat 23 Mar 96. Altho the sky was clearing they could see little
tail. The scouts were disappointed that the comet didn't race around
the sky.
Stew Rorer had a cow on Sun 24 Mar 96 -- the nucleus split in two!
No, when he looked more closely at 04:00 Hyakutake was gliding past
gam Boo. The star was within the coma! He viewed from his N Ft Myers
FL home. By 05:00 the Comet moved off of the star, dissolving the
illusion.
Rodney Taylor on Wed 20 Mar 96 found Hyakutake by eye from his
North Park TX home. It was near threshold visibility as a fuzzy patch
due to intense skyglow from surrounding lights.
Eileen,Thomas ODed from Central Pk and Great Kills Pk sessions,
was rejuvenated on Tue 26 Mar 96. At 20:00 she showed the Comet from
her Ward Hill SI house to 3 local kids. They saw no tail in her
Astroscan thru haze.
Eileen Thomas ate supper under the rays of Hyakutake since 27 Mar
96. Every clear -- and even not-sa-clear -- evening it shone thru her
dining room window [in Word Hill SI]. Between bites she inspected the
comet thru her Astroscan.
Steve Tury followed the Comet from his Upper West Side MH rooftop
with assorted scopes and binocs every chance he got in Mar 96. In
comparing it with Halley's Comet from 85-86, he noted Hyakutake was
more awesome.
Barbara VanMir, visiting from Belgium, saw the Comet next to
Polaris Tue 26 Mar 96 from a Greenwich Village MH street corner! Altho
tempered by clouds she was amazed that it was visible at all from the
City. She added that it was cloudy in Belgium thruout March so this
was her first sighting.