Time: 5:50 U.T.
Instrument: 20x80 Binoculars
Seeing: Steady (for binoculars)
NELM: 6.5
Temperature: +55 F (+13 C)
The above sketch shows the basic appearance of Comet C/2006 VZ13 LINEAR as seen with hand-held 20x80 binoculars. Only a few of the many visible field stars appear in this sketch. South is up. West is to the left. The comet is the large, round, nebulous object with a brighter middle. The galaxy, NGC 6015 was visible in the 20x80 binoculars as a much smaller and fainter nebulous object to the west of the comet. The comet was easily visible with 8x42 binoculars as well as with the 20x80s.
The comet was in the constellation Draco. Its rough location at the time of this observation was RA 15hr 57min, Dec. +62 degrees 28min. I estimated the comet's coma to be about 0.2 degrees in diameter. The comet is currently well placed in the evening sky for observers at mid-northern latitudes.
An aurora was visible a few degrees above my northern horizon. The aurora was somewhat brighter (with a small amount of structure visible) around 5:20 U.T. than it was at the time of the comet observation (5:50 U.T.). The aurora never extended very much above my northern horizon and seemed to have little or no effect on the limiting magnitude higher in the sky.
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