WOOHOO!!!

After a long day full of clouds and wind, I expected to miss out on the chance to see Comet Lulin for another night. But since the good ol' Kansas weather is always changing, about an hour ago I decided to poke my head out and check to see how cold it was getting. Lo and behold, the clouds had blown away. So I quickly grabbed my binoculars and the telescope that I borrowed from the EMS science department, and set up shop on the back deck.

I wasn't sure how much luck I'd have, since the sky's not incredibly dark in the middle of town, but I thought I'd give it a try. As a warm-up, I pointed the scope towards Saturn...and was rewarded with a beautiful image of this creamy-yellow sphere encircled by a set of gorgeous rings. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, though since Saturn's ring's are edge-on towards Earth. But I guess this only happens every 29 years or so, so it's kind of a big deal.

Anyways, after doing a victory dance, warming myself up a little (it's cold and windy this evening) and chasing my dog around the yard,* I repositioned the scope and started searching for Lulin. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to find it...about 3/4 of the way between Saturn and Regulus, right where it was supposed to be.

*She had managed to get ahold of my glasses, and I'm pretty much blind without them. Sort of like that girl on Scoobie Doo. So if you can imagine Mr. Magette, in a heavy coat and house slippers, blindly chasing his dog around in the dark of his back yard, you'll get the picture. It's funnier now than it was at the time. Oh, and as an insult, she waited until I almost caught her and then dropped them right in front of me. Just in time for my foot to come down on them. Ah...the satisfying crunch of a pair of eyeglasses underfoot...

Anyways, the view of Comet Lulin from my back deck in the middle of town with amateur equipment and skills wasn't necessarily beautiful like these images. But it was still pretty darn cool. Just a fuzzy green little smudge-ball making its way across the sky.

Awesome...tomorrow night I'll try getting out of town where it's dark.