Tag: La Palma

So we all know that comets are fickle things, promising a lot and delivering very little. So it was with a degree of scepticism that I thought that I would give Comet 38P/Stephan-Oterma a go.

The article in Astronomy Now had explained that this periodic comet was making its first return for 38 years, arriving at perihelion on the 10^th November with predicted magnitudes of between 9 and 10.

Dave and I had looked for it with his massive bins, and whilst Dave was able to say that he could see it with averted vision, with honesty I couldn’t see it at all, and that was before a glass of vino!

So as the mount was successfully aligned I thought that I would have a go at getting an image.

Sky Safari indicated that it would be near to the star Wasat and 56 Gem. I had been using the 200 mm lens with the Canon 650 (mod) to image this evening at 800 iso, but thought that bearing in mind that the limiting magnitude for Dave’s binos was 11 that I was unlikely to get much at 800 iso.

First try was centred on Wasat using 6400 iso. Accepting that it would be really noisy I thought that at least I would get something. There followed a series of shots, none of which were really definitive. I then tried creating a ‘user object’ on the handset, based on the Sky Safari coordinates. This again was inconclusive so with heavy heart I thought that 38P and given me the slip.

It was therefore even more pleasing when examining the images on the computer the following morning to find a faint object on the images. Nothing spectacular, and Damian Peach will have no concerns about the completion, but there it was probably 10^th magnitude a tiny fuzzy ball.

First comet image for quite a time and pleasing to have seen this one as it flies into the Sun even if it was not a grand spectacle.

A good end to a hugely enjoyable evening under the La Palma stars.

Expedition members Alan Lorrain and Dave Shave-Wall have arrived for a visit to La Palma, with the express aim of checking out the North West quadrant of the island for suitability of future BASEG trips.

After arriving at the airport on La Palma around 12pm, think very early flight, the two packed their multiple suitcases into a Seat Leon estate that easily took 5 large suitcases and 4 smaller laptop, rucksack and wheelie bags.

The drive took us past Lidl just North West of the airport for a quick stop, as this was a self catering trip and then heading further West, through the long tunnel and then North through the multiple winding roads. The final piece of the drive to the villa El Sitio at the Garafia complex of 5 or so villas was fairly off road with the car just making it up the steep winding drive. 2 hours had past not including the Lidl stop so it is a fair trek from the airport. The height at the villa is 4,335 ft give or take the error from GPS and puts you above the clouds, at least on arrival.

The accommodation, 1 bedroom and a lounge with a sofa bed are adequate for the weeks stay, the bathroom, eating area, kitchen and patio areas are lovely, there is a shared pool, your own sauna and various paths around the property.

There is also a 10″ Skywatcher Dobsonian telescope with various eyepieces in the small building next to the pool free to use. An extension cable was provided and Christian, the manager who works for Tobias the owner was more than helpful in explaining how to turn off various lights that would come on during the night.

So after a long day, food was in order whilst setting up the equipment for the first nights viewing was going on.