there was a comet passing by....? gosh, i'm so outdated....

what's the name of the comet....?

It's Pojmanski.

While waiting for you guys to show your comet pics, i'll provide some sideshow with these:-

the almost New Moon yesterday evening, with Mercury.

Hey, I can't see Mercury, you query. Sorry, it's hiding behind those low clouds......

Jupiter and 2 Moons


Blue Jupiter through the Casio

What's your telescope? Looks like it's doing well!

Are we still able to see Mercury? What about Pojmanski?

is it still visible....? gosh, me so outdated leh....

I am asking March05. Let's wait for him!

I've just checked Starry Night Pro....

It's in the west, Constellation Aquila.... setting in about 5 pm.....

gosh, it's gonna be hard to observe.... apparent magnitude is only 6.65.....

This post has been edited by Eithanius: Mar 3 2006, 03:37 PM

No more tomorrow?

yeah, but with an apparent magnitude of only 6.65.... while the sun is rising....

My telescope provider's brother is able to center the Pojmanski without any problem. I think I am able to do so too. I will be observing Mercury and Pojmanski tomorrow!

software-driven telescope, of course no prob lar....

me software-guided naked eye nia....

This post has been edited by Eithanius: Mar 3 2006, 03:49 PM

Should be brain-guided naked eyes.

not as good as yours; not mine, pinjam saja.

yes to both, just more and more difficult. Narrow window to locate and view, one in the evening, the other in the morning.

wah SNP can use in the Delta Quadrant ah?
seriously, i think i need to consult u...i couldn't update the comets database (downloaded from NASA) in my copy. says there's an error in the text file......

u going to try watching it set? u the best!
actual magnitude i think is more like 12, based on what i saw yesterday morning. This has got to be the dimmest comet i've ever managed to see.

Good luck to both of you. I'm going to catch up on my sleep the next few nights since i've completed my main objectives for this week. Seen the comet, Mercury, Venus, Saturn and Jupiter, and the `new Moon'.....very happy lah.

Seriously, you've got the wrong guy.... I've just started to mess around with SNP, so I'm not sure about updating databases from NASA.... currently I'm relying on SNP online databases alone....

will check it out on NASA though....


EDITED: typo error....

This post has been edited by Eithanius: Mar 3 2006, 05:16 PM

the link is here: http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/dat/ELEMENTS.COMET (updated 2nd March 2006!) most accurate.... just to save you a bit of time.
Let me know when you've figured it out hehe.

Is Stary Night Pro a astro software? Where can I download it?

you sure that file's compatible with SNP....?

I have to assume you're using Windows XP, so I don't know how you would update your SNP database, but since I'm using a Mac, all those data files are packaged into one .app file, so I just have to swap the existing Comet database with the .txt file you've linked above within the .app file. Apparently, it was not compatible. Comets like Forbes and Pojmanski were not registered as before. So I replaced it once again with the original file, and both comets registered....

btw, what version are you using...? I'm on the latest 5.8.2....

yes it is.... you can download a trial version at Starry Night website. And yes, you need to buy if you wanna continue using it after trial expiry. It costs USD149.95.

Link: http://www.starrynight.com/
The best sky simulation software IMHO but not free.....

evidently not!
I've just figured it out: I have to manually create a new comet and then manually input all the Epoch, q, e, i, w, Node,Tp figures for Pojmanski.....gasp, gasp. But finally, the comet appears! Doing things the hard way, but these are the newest updates for the comet's position and the most accurate. Of course, if you've the latest updates from Imaginova, this comet could already in there. Then you just edit the ephemerides that need updating.


only 4.50 here.....

I've figured that out too, but unfortunately i did a comparison on the original Comets database and the one you've linked to me. The latter database has much more comets listed than the original.... by more than ten fold....

so if I were to input manually....

btw, if you were to input Pojmanski alone, SNP has already done that.... that's why it registers on my SNP in the first place..... you can auto-download it from SNP directly, that is if your version supports that....

This post has been edited by Eithanius: Mar 3 2006, 08:17 PM

hehe finger exercises!
I think most of the comets listed are only of academic interest. Almost always the only new objects added in any update are comets and numerous asteriods. It should be okay to wait for news of these objects and then manually input only the specific object ephemerides. That should keep the database compact and tidy. I used to have this habit of trying to update everything, and the software just ran slower and slower with the added unused data to churn through.

Anyway, unless you are using SNP to control a telescope, you don't really need the extra accuracy of the NASA figures....

BTW can i request you run a simulation of the comet and Venus at 6.30 am 4th March 2006 for Kuala Lumpur? Then export the image and post it here. I'm curious to see how much more realistic they've made Version 5+. I always thought 4.50 was cool enough.

This post has been edited by March05: Mar 3 2006, 09:07 PM