Comet Lulin Meets Saturn

Saturn and Lulin

Comet C/2007 N3 (Lulin) and Saturn Conjunction
Sketch and Details by Jef De Wit

First my big appreciation for the website. I was a fan of APOD for years and discoverd ASOD only two month ago. Even the members of my astroclub specialised in sketching didn’t know of the website! I try to motivate them to send some of their best pictures, but I think I have to give the example first. I hope you like mine sketch.

The weather in Belgium was (and is still) very bad. I tried to see Lulin for several nights without any result. The 24th this month there was a brief opening around 3.30 (local time) in the clouds for about 20 minutes. I was on holiday and had only my binocular (7x50mm) with me. The observation was made from a balcony on the 10th floor. I had to lean – not without any danger – over the realing to see the comet, so I couldn’t install my tripod. To bad, because the binocular handheld there were no details vissible. The comet was a round, uniform spot in the sky. But that doesn’t matter, the conjunction with Saturn was a beautiful sight. I made a sketch and went outside in the hope to install the tripod. But the time I arrived downstairs the clouds were again omnipresent.

Object name: C/2007 N3 (Lulin)
Object type: comet
Location: Oostende (51° North 3° East, Belgium)
Date and time: 24 februari 2009 2.30 UT
Instrument: handheld binocular 7 x 50 mm
NELM: 4
Medium: graphite pencil (2B and 8B) on white printing paper, scanned and colours inverted

Bye (and sorry for my English)
Jef De Wit

2 thoughts on “Comet Lulin Meets Saturn”

  1. Jef,

    Thx for this very nice sketch.
    I have no weather to see this meeting. Watching Your pictures I can see it! 😀

    Marek

  2. Jef,

    Marek is correct this is a very nice comet sketch.
    You picked a great night with Saturn in the same field of view.

    Frank 🙂

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