Sketch of C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS) - March 18/19, 2013
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While visiting family in Elk City, Oklahoma, we had a mostly clear evening and I brought a tripod out into a field to have a look at the comet. About a dozen alpaca followed me out and decided it was a good time to graze nearby.

Despite Elk City having lower altitude than Flagstaff and more moisture in the air, the comet was in great form and showing off lots of structure in its tail. I noted three brighter plumes in the main curving section of the tail. There was also a faint straighter edge along the north edge. Along the southern edge, a fainter curving edge peeled away at a broad angle, and then further down, another short, straight segment emanated from the coma. It stretched about 1.5 degrees across the width of the binocular field. What a beauty!

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Sketch of C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS) - March 13/14, 2013
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In the two nights since I last viewed the comet, it's elevation has risen enough to pull it further out of the twilight glare. And it looks GREAT! The view got better and better as twilight deepened. The tail seemed to nearly double in length since I last viewed it—approaching what I estimate to be nearly a degree long. This time, I also noticed a graceful curve to the tail. The short, fainter extension on the south side was more obvious than last time, and I also detected hints of a fainter, straight streamer along the curved, northern edge of the tail. I think the ion tail is too faint to see, so I wonder if this is some extra definition in the dust tail. The comet was also easily visible naked eye, and this time the tail gave the naked-eye view a slightly smeared shape.

My daughter came with me and we switched back and forth between binoculars and the telescope while I shot photos and sketched. The lot on McMillan Mesa was loaded with people and their binoculars, cameras and a couple other scopes. We shared the view with a couple other folks parked nearby before the comet finally set, a warm copper brush stroke diving into the trees. I watched the tail gradually fade away for another minute and a half afterward. We finished by having a look at M42, Jupiter, the Pleiades, a few constellations, and of course the stunning crescent moon, lit by Earthshine.

C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS) burns over the trees on McMillan Mesa.

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Sketch of C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS) - March 11/12, 2013
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The comet was looking better tonight and I was able to view it naked eye as a soft 'star' in the twilight. Besides binoculars, I also brought the 8-inch Dob to a school parking lot on McMillan Mesa. The view was most pleasing through binoculars, but some of the delicate structure was more apparent through the scope. I tried to capture the essentials in the sketch above. It's always awesome watching a comet sink behind the treeline.

I shot and stacked a few photos with my Canon 300D, but since my lens only zooms to 105 mm, the comet was pretty shrimpy in the images. I snagged a few more photos through the binoculars and telecope with the iPhone camera. That gave larger scale, but the images are pretty noisy.

C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS) emerges from the twilight over Mars Hill.

iPhone photo through binoculars of C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS) as it sets over Mars Hill.

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Illustration of C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS) - March 10/11, 2013
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Illustration of C/2011 L4 (PanSTARRS) - March 10/11, 2013
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After weeks of putting on a nice show for the southern hemisphere, PanSTARRS finally drifted into view for northern observers. We had a crystal clear sky for dusk this evening and I found a spot with a good view to the west on McMillan Mesa.

The Belt of Venus rises to the east of my makeshift observing spot.

Binocular view of Mars Hill and the Lowell Observatory Clark Dome to the west.

The comet finally came into view about 7:00 PM with the sun 7 degrees below the horizon and the comet 6 degrees above. It was a beautiful white fan over a gray-blue sky. The central condensation appeared elongated with the brightest section of the tail on the right (north) side. There was a hint of a fainter, shorter tail on the left (south) side. I roughly estimated overall visible length at around half a degree. I tried spotting it naked eye, but couldn't confirm a couple suspected glimpses.

While making sketches, I had a chance to share the view with a couple people who pulled over to take a look, including Kevin Mullins, planetary science professor at CCC. I also suspect Bill Ferris was just parked a couple hundred yards up the road.

As the comet began to set behind Mars Hill, it took on a ruddier color and shared an interesting, overlapping view with passing aircraft. As good as it looked through binoculars, it's got to look amazing through a telescope. So I'll have to try that next.

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Positive Sketches of the Pleiades and BU536

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