Pan-STARRS: A Frustration

It's sad that I no longer have a chance to view Pan-STARRS as it is disappearing from view from where I live. The best dates for viewing the tiny comet was sometime around March 10. It's moving to the northern skies and disappearing from the horizon of places in the tropics. Not having been able to see it in person or photograph it is a frustration.

One of the reasons why I didn't get a chance to see it is the lack of information on its location. From the first week of March, I have been checking the western horizon for signs of it. Reports on the web say it's too faint to be seen by untrained eyes. Others recommend binoculars. I don't have binoculars.

Much of the location information on the web was for people living in higher latitudes (North America and Europe). Skies look a little different if you're near the equator. Being an amateur stargazer, it was difficult for me to compare U.S.-oriented sky charts to what I see from where I live. General Santos City is about 6 degrees north of the equator.

Another reason is the unpredictable weather. During the supposedly best viewing days, weather wasn't good. To add to the difficulty, the western horizon seemed to be often hazy and cloudy.

Anyway, I have called off my search for the elusive comet. I'm looking forward to seeing its brighter sister, which is reported to grace earthlings sometime in November this year. I hope Comet ISON becomes a true spectacle, and not a mere speck.

While attempting to take photos of the western horizon, I caught a few snaps of a few stars. Four of them are in the photo below. Do you recognize that constellation of stars? It's Aries.