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Fritz Helmut Hemmerich via SpaceWeather.com
Comet PanSTARRS shines above the clouds on Tenerife in the Canary Islands on March 10.
By Alan Boyle
Science Editor, NBC News
Comet PanSTARRS has proved harder to spot in the Northern Hemisphere than some might have expected — but some hardy souls have captured time-lapse videos of the sparkle in the sky.
"Certainly not a 'great comet' by any means," astronomer Alan Hale, the co-discoverer of 1997's Comet Hale-Bopp, wrote in a posting to the Comets-ML online forum. "The visibility should hopefully improve over the next few nights as it climbs higher out of the twilight, but I don't foresee anything spectacular."
Other veteran observers said PanSTARRS could hardly be seen with the naked eye amid the glare of sunset. As the week wears on, the comet will get progressively higher and more northerly in the sky. But it will get progressively dimmer as well.
That's what makes Tuesday's viewing opportunity so key: On March 12, PanSTARRS should be sitting just to the left of the crescent moon, as indicated in this sky chart from SpaceWeather.com. The moon will thus serve as a guidepost for you to turn your binoculars to the right spot just after sunset.
Greg Crinklaw, who writes about comets on the Skyhound website, said the expectations for sighting PanSTARRS have been stoked by "blazing headlines." Now reality is setting in.
"There will be about a 10- to 20-minute window to catch the comet each night starting about March 12 and going through the end of the month," he wrote. "I am predicting that it will not be a naked-eye object except to expert observers at higher elevations with very little haze on their horizon."
Fortunately, some of those expert observers have been sharing their moving pictures of PanSTARRS. Fritz Helmut Hemmerich, for example, sent SpaceWeather.com an animated sequence from Tenerife in the Canary Islands. "We went high on the Teide volcano to photograph the comet," Hemmerich said. "Each frame in the video is a 4-second exposure taken with a Canon 1100D digital camera set at ISO 400."
Hemmerich's son, Hanoch, contributed a video to the Vimeo website, and you can watch it further on down below. I'm also including some other PanSTARRS movies from the Northern Hemisphere as well as the Southern Hemisphere, courtesy of Vimeo. In all cases, it's best if you go for the full-screen HD view. For still more comet sightings, check out the gallery on SpaceWeather.com.
Did you see the comet? Got any tips? Please feel free to share your tips as comments below, and share your photos via our FirstPerson photo-upload page. Here's our first FirstPerson submission, from Vik Sridharan in San Pedro, Calif:
Vik Sridharan via NBC News FirstPerson
"Comet PanSTARRS visible above the Pacific Ocean about an hour after sunset," Vik Sridharan reported in his FirstPerson photo submission. "Visible to a camera sensor, but not the naked eye! Shot from Palos Verdes with a Canon 50D and 200mm F4L. 3-second exposure at f/4 and ISO 800."
This view of Comet PanSTARRS on Vimeo comes from Michael Zeiler in Santa Fe, N.M.
Cast your eyes on pictures featuring PanSTARRS, Hale-Bopp and other crowd-pleasing comets.
More about comets:
- Get the most out of PanSTARRS at its peak
- Bright Comet ISON could sizzle, or fizzle
- Comet's Mars encounter adds to concerns
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
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"two comets will collide my cross will appear in a red sky"
following message from thewarningsecondcoming
My dearly beloved daughter time is near. The Warning is close now. It is with great sorrow that I must tell you that many souls will not heed these messages about The Warning. My word falls on deaf ears. Why won’t they listen? I am not only giving them My great gift of Mercy when I will shower My graces over the whole world, I am also trying to prepare them for this event. Many millions of sinners will rejoice when they are shown My great mercy. Others won’t get a chance to redeem them selves in time because they will die of shock.
My daughter you must do everything you can to warn the world. Because this great event will shock everyone. They will see great signs in the skies before The Warning takes place. Stars will clash with such impact that man will confuse the spectacle they see in the sky as being catastrophic. As these comets infuse a great red sky will result and the sign of my cross will be seen all over the world by everyone. Many will be frightened. But I say rejoice for you will see, for the first time in your lives, a truly Divine Sign that represents great news for sinners everywhere.
See My cross then and you will know that My great mercy is being given to each of you, My precious children. For it was with the deep abiding love that I held for you that I died, willingly, on the cross to save you. When you see the crosses in the sky during The Warning you will know that this is a sign of My love for you.
Pray My beloved followers that your brothers and sisters can rejoice when they, too, are shown the proof of My existence. Pray that they will accept that this is their chance to redeem themselves in My eyes. That this great act of Mercy will save their souls if they will allow Me to help them.
You will be shown what it is like to die in mortal sin
The Warning will be a purifying experience for all of you. It may be unpleasant in part especially for those in grave sin. Because for the first time ever you will be shown what it feels like when the light of God disappears from your life. Your souls will feel the abandonment felt by those who die in mortal sin. These poor souls who left it too late to ask God to forgive them their sins. Remember it is important that I allow all of you to feel this emptiness of soul. For only then will you finally understand that without the light of God in your souls you cease to feel. Your soul and body would be just empty vessels. Even sinners feel the light of God because he is present in every one of his children on earth. But when you die in mortal sin, this light no longer exists.
Prepare now for this great event. Save your souls while you can. For it will only be when the light of God leaves you that you will finally realise the empty, barren and darkness that Satan offers which is full of anguish and terror.
Replenish your souls. Rejoice now for The Warning will save you and bring you closer to My Sacred Heart.
Welcome the Warning. For then you will be given the proof of Eternal Life and know how important it is.
Your Beloved Saviour
Jesus Christ
King of Mankind
And where is it written that a comet will signal the end times?
Nick, you're going to be sorely disappointed when you die.
So, we're doing the "End of the Earth" thing again?
Ok.. I'll pack my stuff up AGAIN.. And head out into the woods AGAIN..
You know, if it doesn't happen this time, I quit!
But then again, he won't. Will he, Grumps?
That's an awful big pants-wetting over a not-very-impressive comet.
True, Eichmann - he won't be aware that there is no Heaven, or Hell for that matter. Too bad that for at least a millisecond he won't realize that there really is no divine purpose...
Could see it here in North Phoenix, AZ (about 16 miles north of downtown) during the past 20 minutes with a cheap pair of binoculars. Didn't have to do anything special; it was just above the tallest tree line. Very cool!
That's heartening! Now all I need are clear skies over Seattle. ;-)
Haven't been able to see it yet /sadface
It was visible as a naked-eye object Monday night in Round Rock, TX within the city limits for a brief time (1-2 min) just after sunset (~7:45) before it disappeared. However, it reappeared for about a 15 minute time span (approx. 8:20-8:35) before setting.
Tried looking for it i Sun City, Georgetown - will try again tonight.
I tried a couple of nights out of Pittsburgh (Wagman Observatory) with no luck. Just too much haze on the horizon.
As far as how hard it is to see? I think this is what makes it hard to get the public involved in astronomy. They're expecting to see a comet with a big fanned out tail across the night sky and this is greatly disappointing when they realize that it just isn't going to be that good. Easy access to great images taken over many hours/days from the kinds of hardware that they'll never see is causing great expectations that will never be realized looking through an eyepiece.
On the other hand, the ability to navigate through the night sky and find all the sky has to offer on their own is part of why I do it. While I think it's fine for those with the go-to style scopes to have a good time with their equipment, I can't help but feel that it's at least a bit of a cheat. To each their own I guess.
Had an excellent view of it in Temple, TX right at sunset, 7:35 P.M. CDT. It was bright and visible with the naked eye. By 7:50 P.M. CDT it was barely visible through my 10x50 binoculars.
I will try again tonight setting up my 6 inch reflector telescope.
Okay. I'm an idiot. Thank goodness for anonymity on the internet.
I don't know what the heck we saw the first night. It was not moving, only setting. It was stationary while obvious jet contrails were moving. I think it might have been a contrail at an oblique angle so there was no sideways movement. So I'm stupid. At least I don't believe in chemtrails, ha, ha.
But we did see the comet last night. About 8:15-8:25 CDT. Looked pretty much like the photo above from New Mexico. Definitely need to travel more away from city lights if I go out again to see it.
It was also interesting to view such a thin crescent moon.
We're just seeing clouds and snow in Ohio, but what else is new?
Two comets that small in the solar system colliding would be like hitting the lottery 7 times in the same week but as we all know given enough time anything is possible.
We have tried to view the comet on two successive nights with binoculars without success . The first night it was obscured by very low clouds on the horizon. Last night, we nailed the very thin crescent moon at twilight and watched very closely, but the comet just wasn't visible in our Oklahoma skies.
Disappointing so far ... you better believe it. Reminds me of Halley's comet in 1985 ...
'