Joe, Accordint to:http://www.spaceweather.com/ To the right of the coma is the comet's ion tail. It is a wispy streamer of ionized gas pushed away from the comet by solar wind. The ion tail points almost directly away from the sun. To the left of the coma is the comet's dust tail. Comet Lulin is leaving a trail of comet dust as it moves through the solar system. Compared to the lightweight molecules in the ion tail, grains of comet dust are heavier and harder for solar wind to push around. The dust tends to stay where it is dropped. The dust tail therefore traces the comet's curved orbit and does not point directly away from the sun as the ion tail does. Because the two tails point in different directions, they are called the "tail and anti-tail." Joe, from what I have read Lulin will reach it’s peak brightness around the 24th of Feb. Jim --- On Tue, 2/3/09, Joe Bauman <josephmbauman@yahoo.com> wrote: From: Joe Bauman <josephmbauman@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Comet Lulin on 2/3/09 To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Tuesday, February 3, 2009, 1:53 PM WOW, is it coming directly toward us with the two tails shooting off behind? -- Joe --- On Tue, 2/3/09, Tyler Allred <tylerallred@earthlink.net> wrote: From: Tyler Allred <tylerallred@earthlink.net> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Comet Lulin on 2/3/09 To: "'Utah Astronomy'" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Tuesday, February 3, 2009, 11:17 AM Hi all, I got up early this morning and imaged Comet Lulin. The new image is in my SLAS gallery, or follow this link: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=938&g2_imageViewsIndex=1 The comet now has a visible dust tail (right in my image) and an ion tail (left). It is getting pretty bright as well. I think this is going to be a good one. Cheers, Tyler _____________________________________________ -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Joe Bauman Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 11:36 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Search for Comit Kushida Is blinking a euphemism? I've heard quite a variety of them in Utah .... Joe --- On Mon, 2/2/09, daniel turner <outwest112@yahoo.com> wrote: From: daniel turner <outwest112@yahoo.com> Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Search for Comit Kushida To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Monday, February 2, 2009, 10:09 PM Jim: I couldn't see it in the valley with 10x50's so I made a quick run up to Little Mountain to get up above some of the haze with the 20x80's. I put the field around theta and delta taurus and when I looked at either of these stars the comet popped into view like a blinking planetary nebula. DT Time: 2009 February 3 0320-0330 UT.(Monday night MST) Location: Little Mountain. equiptment: 20x80 binoculars conditions: cold clear and dry. First quarter moon high in the sky and some haze limiting transparency down low but fairly good up high. Went looking for 144P Kushida as it crossed the face of taurus which was transiting at high elevation. Found the comet between delta and theta Taurus with averted vision. Dimmer than m79 which was low in the haze but visable direct. Also saw m81 m82 dimly in the haze down low but direct. Also saw m41, m46, m47, m35. Looked for but did not see m93 and ngc2903. _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://gallery.utahastronomy.com Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com