[BAA Comets] Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy)

[Shanklin, Jonathan D.]

Visual observers under dark skies are reporting a coma diameter up to about 40 minutes, though 30' is probably the median, so much bigger than the electronic measurements.  The total visual magnitude is about 3.9.  I'm planning on doing a reanalysis of the observations tomorrow or Saturday.  I'll see if I can plot any consistent pattern showing the difference between visual and electronic observation.

In the main I would recommend that electronic observers concentrate on making visual equivalent magnitude determinations for comets fainter than about 7th to 8th magnitude, unless there are special circumstances.  One of these is trying to image in twilight, when visual observers might not be able to see a comet at all.

Regards,

Jonathan Shanklin

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