Gazing at Swan

We are in another long stretch of cloudy weather here in the Appalachian Mountcentins, so here is an observation from clearer times (and when there were bright comets in the night sky).

In the telescopic view, Comet Swan was a very well defined visitor from the outer solar system. I was struck by the bright core and the streaky tail. Perhaps other observers also saw this comet around this time?

This sketch was done at the eyepiece with graphite pencil and a stump on white paper. It was inverted after scanning and most of the text was then added. I used the little Astroscan reflector I keep for my students to use–it doesn’t have high end optics but it is easy to grab and has a wide field which is useful for observing comets.

Object Name: C/2006 M4 (SWAN)
Object Type: Comet
Location: Friars Hill, WV USA
Date: 26 October 2006

Michael Rosolina