Dear sirs,
I received last week my first telescope, a Sears model (#5543, red), as a gift from my dad. I immediately slipped it together and started scanning the sky.
It was not too long before I noticed a find: a spherical star of *very* large proportion. I was extemely excited.
I next ran to my encyclopedia and started looking up facts.
I then found that I had not, in fact found a star. While at first this seemed like a setback, what I found next was even more exciting and made my heart race. Since the object was moving across the sky it fit the category of "comet" instead of "star."
I am very pleased with my find and cannot wait to name the comet.
I guess at this point all that is left is confirmation and peer review.
This is a comet of very large proportion. It crosses the sky in a slow methodical way, you must be careful when watching, as it moves slowly enough that, if you are not especially observant, you may assume that it is not moving at all. This is why I had mistakenly typed this comet as a "star" before further observation. If you continue tracking the comet however, you will notice that it does indeed move across the sky. I was fortunate enough to make a long observation of this comet and tracked it at one time for over nine hours in one sitting. It is visible, as far as I can tell, for 12.5 to 13 hours. It then continues beyond the horizon. If you are especially careful in your observation and track carefully, you may be able to see the comet as it next comes into view 11 or 12 hours later.
This is an especially large comet, visible to the naked eye. I am amazed now that I did not notice it sooner, but it is funny how we do not observe things as they really are at all times as we go through this life. Oh, well.
Please rush confirmation, as I seem to have observed what appears to be a very large asteroid on the horizon and I would like to move on to that. Science must march ever onward. I'm sure you understand.
Yours in science,
Phil Parks