Finding ISON

So I spent Saturday working on the repair of the power jack and decided to go with the 'non-elegant' solution. The fix was to run a set of wires from the inside of the mount through the hole where the existing jack was located and to a new inline jack. The power is then plugged into the external jack (see pic). Works like a champ.

With the new telescope up and running I tried to locate comet ISON on Saturday. No luck. Not sure if it was the bright sky (due to the moon) or the low elevation of the comet, but try as I might I couldn't verify that I picked up ISON.

No matter, as soon as the moon gets out of the way (in a few days) I'll try again.

Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona (October 8, 2013)

More info on Astronomy.com

ISON will lie closest to the Sun November 28 — at just 680,000 miles from its surface. Wow, that's close, hence why we call comets like ISON sungrazers. Latest predictions indicate that it will peak at magnitude –4.5, equivalent to the brightness of Venus.

On December 8, Comet ISON crosses into the northern sky. It should shine brighter than 1st magnitude and perhaps sport a spectacular tail. Northern Hemisphere viewers will get increasingly better views as Christmas approaches.