Reports that the comet was producing an impressive tail served as a catalyst for this observation. I setup the 10-inch Starfinder Newtonian on the back deck and waited for nightfall. A 63X view is presented at left. Ikeya-Zhang's coma is positioned near the northwest field boundary. Ninth magnitude GSC 22:1144 is visible 9' to the north with its attending pair of 11th magnitude GSC stars. The coma features a bright core, roundish but not stellar. An inner tail embedded within a fainter dust tail extends toward the east-northeast. the inner, bright white tail gradually tapers like a long dagger blade over a distance of 17'. The outer, yellowish tail gradually broadens, appears 25' in length under direct scrutiny and extends another 30' with averted vision. Eleven field stars frame the view. |