Had to take a phone call at about 5:30, so didnt get to try to pick up the comet until 5:40. It was easy to spot in my 11x70 binos, about 10 degrees above the horizon. As soon as I found it, I put down the binos and easily picked it up unaided-eye. My 17-year-old son, 9-year-old son and his friend, and my wife all spotted it just as easily. It disappeared below my local horizon, about 2½ degrees, at around 6:02. Arent we about due for another great comet? Kim
Due or overdue. They average once in a decade, but even though both Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake were really, really good, I wouldn't put either in the "great" category, in the classical sense of the definition, although some have. In my opinion, comet West was the last undisputed "great" comet. --- Kim <kimharch@cut.net> wrote:
ArenÂt we about due for another great comet?
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Alas, in 1976 I was an LDS missionary in Italy and virtually cutoff from real-world events. I didn't even know about Comet West until much later. How would one define a "great" comet? Is there a classical definition? I thought Hale-Bopp was spectacular, and lingered long enough for most folks to get a good look, even from urban skies. By any definition I've understood, Hale-Bopp ought to be a great comet. Hyakutake was spectacular for those of us who took the time to find a dark site, and it also fled our skies rather quickly. So, no, I wouldn't classify Hyakutake as a great comet, either. Loved it, though. Kim -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces+kimharch=cut.net@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces+kimharch=cut.net@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2007 7:10 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Comet McNaught Due or overdue. They average once in a decade, but even though both Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake were really, really good, I wouldn't put either in the "great" category, in the classical sense of the definition, although some have. In my opinion, comet West was the last undisputed "great" comet.
Incidentally, Wikipedia lists both Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake as "great" comets. Kim
Aloha anyone have any input as to where the comet will be after it rounds the Sun and if that puts southern viewers in a more favorable position. I could not see C. McNaught in its current orbit and it looks as if we'll get a good view as it leaves the inner solar system. Aloha Rob
On 09 Jan 2007, at 20:14, Rob Ratkowski Photography wrote:
anyone have any input as to where the comet will be after it rounds the Sun and if that puts southern viewers in a more favorable position. I could not see C. McNaught in its current orbit and it looks as if we'll get a good view as it leaves the inner solar system.
Well, no one else bit so I loaded the comet's data into TheSky and, provided I crunched the numbers correctly, it looks like Hawaii is going to miss out on this one. Now I'm going to sit here for a few minutes and see if I can feel sorry for you as you are out observing in shorts and t-shirts while I'm having to hack ice off my roof in order to open my observatory... <grin> pw p.s. Pictures here: http://www.spaceweather.com/comets/ gallery_mcnaught.htm
it looks like Hawaii is going to miss out on this one.
Now I'm going to sit here for a few minutes and see if I can feel sorry for you as you are out observing in shorts and t-shirts while I'm having to hack ice off my roof in order to open my observatory... <grin>
pw
p.s. Pictures here: http://www.spaceweather.com/comets/gallery_mcnaught.htm
Thanks Patrick Oh well ............................................... RR
Reply to both Kim and Patrick: Yes, Patrick is right, by rigidly defining a "great" comet as one easily visible in the daytime, then perhaps we may not live long enough to see one! To me, to be "great", a comet must be both large, as seen on the sky, and bright- an immense visual spectacle outshining just about everything else in the night sky. Hale-Bopp was reasonably bright, but even at it's best was perhaps 1/4 to 1/3 the apparent size of West and not quite bright enough to get it into the great category in my mind. Huykutake was incredibly long- and dim at closest approach, although just on weirdness and ghostly beauty I may be persuaded to call it "nearly great". Comet West was huge. The tail began rising a couple of hours before the nucleus, and cut a magnificent swath across a big chunk of the sky. And it was bright! The tail didn't dim quickly with distance from the nucleus, it stayed remarkably bright for most of it's length. I do believe it spoiled me. It got very little press, due to the Kohoutek fiasco a year or two before (fall of '74). The Media got burned once and didn't want to get burned again. It's good to be an amateur astronomer and not have to depend on mainstream media for news about things like comets! I suspect whomever wrote the Wikipedia entry (anyone can), never saw West (or Bennett for that matter). I'd call Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake "great" in the sense that they were "terrific" comets, 8 out of 10, maybe 8.5. West was a 9.5+. A good comparison is, say, if Ikeya-Zhang was Hale-Bopp, then Hale-Bopp would be West. Does this analogy help illustrate the difference? My 3 cents. --- Kim <kimharch@cut.net> wrote:
Incidentally, Wikipedia lists both Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake as "great" comets.
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On 09 Jan 2007, at 20:56, Chuck Hards wrote:
It's good to be an amateur astronomer and not have to depend on mainstream media for news about things like comets!
Agreed. There are few phones calls that I remember for years but I do remember one I received in the basement of the Hansen Planetarium one March morning in 1976. The guy on the other end of the line proceeded to tell me about a huge comet he'd seen that morning. I had no idea what he was talking about but said I'd check it out the next morning. And I did. The next morning I was up at Little Mountain staring at what I initially thought was the glow of the soon-to-rise Moon. But it was no Moon. It was Comet West rising. Remarkable! And not just the comet but the fact that I heard about it first in a phone call from some guy who happened to see it by accident. No way that could happen in this internet age. pw p.s. Seeing the comet that morning eventually let to my first media interview. So blame it on KSL radio and Comet West the next time you see me in the interview. :)
Other discussion groups have also gone off into the question of what is a great comet. Someone ranked this one as the best in two years. For myself, comets are a new interest. I was suprised to find that at any one time there are about a dozen in the sky that can be viewed with amateur telescopes. This last year I made it a point to look at two or three each time I set up at Stansbury Park. The reaction from the public to this was, well, "great". Now I'm ready to bore anyone to death with where they come from and where they are going. Tonight I showed this comet to a couple of total strangers. One of them needed to be assured that this one won't hit the earth, but I don't mind those type of questions. I think any kind of participatory public outreach is "great" DT __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com
I remember looking for those when I went through the same phase. Anyone remeber John Bortle's S&T column "Comet Digest"? Most were "faint fuzzies", seldom displaying a tail. But sometimes I got surprised. These days, at least naked-eye visibility is required to get me out with the big binos, so I salute your enthusiasm (and envy your free time)! Daniel, I can't recall right now, but someone used to have an on-line comet ephemeris with updated info on current telescopically visible comets. I remember that it could be displayed as a 3-dimensional model, with orbits traced-out and a changeable viewpoint. But for the life of me I can't recall anything else about it...maybe some searching will bear fruit if it's still on a server somewhere...It's been a few years at least. --- daniel turner <outwest112@yahoo.com> wrote:
I was suprised to find that at any one time there are about a dozen in the sky that can be viewed with amateur telescopes.
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On 09 Jan 2007, at 23:15, Chuck Hards wrote:
Daniel, I can't recall right now, but someone used to have an on-line comet ephemeris with updated info on current telescopically visible comets. I remember that it could be displayed as a 3-dimensional model, with orbits traced-out and a changeable viewpoint.
While not limited to comets, this place displays 3-d models. http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/orbits/ pw
Anybody remember Ikeya-Seki? That was the first major comet I saw, somewhere around 1965. The tail went from the horizon halfway up the sky. If I remember correctly, it was a sun-grazer that came in fast and broke up going around the sun.
That one just predates my cosmic awareness, though I've heard the stories. I was about seven years old, and still two years away from my first telescope. West's tail was in that category- by the time the nucleus rose, the tail was halfway to the zenith. Patrick had it right- when the tail started to rise early in the morning, you thought it was the moon below the horizon. --- Michael Carnes <MichaelCarnes@earthlink.net> wrote:
Anybody remember Ikeya-Seki? That was the first major comet I saw, somewhere around 1965. The tail went from the horizon halfway up the sky. If I remember correctly, it was a sun-grazer that came in fast and broke up going around the sun.
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On 09 Jan 2007, at 19:10, Chuck Hards wrote:
Due or overdue. They average once in a decade, but even though both Hale-Bopp and Hyakutake were really, really good, I wouldn't put either in the "great" category, in the classical sense of the definition, although some have. In my opinion, comet West was the last undisputed "great" comet.
I humbly disagree. If "Great Comet" is defined as one easily visible during daylight hours then none of the 3 qualify. But if judged by how big it appeared to the eye, West would come in second or maybe even third. Just MHO. pw
participants (6)
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Chuck Hards -
daniel turner -
Kim -
Michael Carnes -
Patrick Wiggins -
Rob Ratkowski Photography