Making up for lost time
One of the biggest problems in filming the Sky at Night is deciding what to put in and when. Normally, we film in the week before transmission and in the past have even managed to insert news breaking early on the Sunday morning.
This time, we filmed early because of Christmas and were caught out. I was in two minds whether to mention Comet McNaught, but as it was so low ignored it. Instead, it’s putting on quite a show. Here’s the advice for tonight from Pete Lawrence.
Get to a location with a flat WSW horizon and look out just after sunset. 16.15-17.30 is best (17.30 is the setting time). If you can see Venus, the comet is just over an outstretched hand’s width at arms’ length, to the right of it (and slightly down).
The comet is very bright, and easy to see in twilight skies. Bincoulars after sunset should show it easily.
on January 11th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
Dr Diego (UCL) has posted some great pictures of McNaught on the Flamsteed web-site (Royal Observatory Greenwich) – taken in Ruskin Park, South London on Jan 10th 07.
See our website at http://www.flamsteed.info
Judith-Anne