My first glimpse of Comet Pan-STARRS

Comet Pan-STARRS

near Pelly Crossing, Yukon 

A quick hello - at long last I caught my first glimpse of Comet Pan-STARRS an hour or so ago - very faint, but much more pronounced with binoculars. 

I spotted the comet at 1030pm while scanning the western sky with binoc's (look a few degrees above the horizon directly above where the sun set).  Tonight the sun set at 8:15pm (hard to believe) with darkness approaching the western sky an hour or so later.

I'm thrilled to have seen this comet as it had eluded me in Ottawa and during my first few days back North.  My mistake was that I was looking far too early - apparently 45mins to 1hr after sunset is ideal.  More and more viewers across the northern hemisphere are beginning to see the comet with the naked eye.  In the coming days the comet will appear higher in the 

evening sky which will make it an easier target for the untrained eye.  

Tonight's shot is very basic - I'm sure there will be plenty more nights in the coming weeks to fine tune my comet photography skills - so neat!!

Hope you have an opportunity to see it.

Good night,

Claus

Photo Info:  Nikon D800 camera with Nikkor 300mm f/2.8 lens attached.  Mounted on tripod, 8 sec exp, 1000ISO, f /3.5