Hunting and Observing
So, despite being days following the observation I wanted to share my experience with hunting down my first comet using the CPC. I’ve noticed that quite a few have had difficulty with obtaining it (as did I) and to this point I’ve yet to observe it by means of my binos. I think its a little bit of new toy syndrome 
Anywho, my hunt for McNaught began on June 7th as I was also waiting for Andromeda to rise high adequate for a glimpse. Problem is from central Ontario, by the time it is possible to see Andromeda and Perseus, the East horizon is currently brightening using the coming dawn.
So, I looked at Perseus, Mirfak and also the Perseus cluster, scanned close to and zilch – no hazy arrow in the sky, nothing. The star map from Astronomy magazine’s email update was just not precise enough for me and in all fairness, I am absolutely still a bit of a newb with telescope scanning rather than with binos. That new toy syndrome is obtaining to me in hindsight!
Alright, I thought, this will supply a mission for future nights. Following a bout of uncooperative weather this would be feasible. So inside meantime, I looked for further updates on McNaught and its location. Then it dawned on me – use Astronomy’s Stardome to obtain the RA and Dec. (my Stellarium doesn’t have C2009 in its database)! The evening of June 14th came along and with it, clear skies. Woo hoo! So with the RA and Dec. of McNaught I waited for 1:30 am to roll around in hopes of glimpsing my target… just behind the trees! Alright, so I enjoyed looking around at some other celestial treasures: the Eagle Nebula, which showed absolutely nothing more than a cluster of stars (Toronto and Barrie’s light pollution pervade the southwestern skies). Thankfully, the Lagoon Nebula and Swan Nebula provided beautiful views that with patience, steady breathing and lots of averted vision revealed delicate gradients of light.
So, by now (2 am) Cassiopeia is a lot higher and to her lower left is Perseus and Mirfak staring proper at me. I punch within the RA and Dec.and following a slight adjustment down and to the left there it was – a bright core using a triangular haze pointing what looked like northwest! I’d discovered it! Immediately, I was awash with satisfaction that my new instrument and a little resourcefulness had introduced a dynamic to observing that the currently impressive database of Nexremote did not consist of.
From this moment, I thought, I now have the bug. I also realized that as I progress as a result of the learning curve of the CPC’s interface I will be able to enjoy a great deal additional than what the straightforward catalogs on the keypad offer!
McNaught can be a gorgeous sight and I would encourage anyone who has been let down by not obtaining it to persist! A familiar feeling of getting Andromeda (my initial DSO) via my binos came over me as I once again searched through obscure territory, was challenged and managed to put it from the observation log.
So, as a little tip from a budding amateur – consider the several resources accessible to you when searching out new targets. Astronomy.com’s Stardome is usually a wonderful tool to tracking down temporal objects that change from night to night.
From the coming months it is my ambition to have an ISS pass lined up while using scope and hopefully track it by way of the eyepiece. Obviously, a more challenging target and with that said, I would love to open the floor to any veterans out there who have managed to catch it. I tried manually the other night as it (the ISS) appeared while I was out with a buddy showing off the scope and I rapidly tried but with could do no much more than keep it in the finder scope.
Thanks for reading everyone and please share your thoughts!
