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Comparsion: Comet McNaught and Comet West
Very interesting how the extended tails of both these comets seem to
be broken into "rays". Both comets reached peak magnitudes of around -3, visible in daylight, and were generally overlooked outside the astronomical community. 2007 Comet McNaught, recent pics: http://spaceweather.com/comets/galle...ght_page12.htm 1976 Comet West: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_West Yep, I'm 0-2 in observing these great comets. :-( |
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Comparsion: Comet McNaught and Comet West
If you recall, the nucleus of Comet West broke apart. I'm wondering if
McNaught is doing the same? |
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Comparsion: Comet McNaught and Comet West
JackPeters wrote:
Very interesting how the extended tails of both these comets seem to be broken into "rays". Both comets reached peak magnitudes of around -3, visible in daylight, and were generally overlooked outside the astronomical community. 2007 Comet McNaught, recent pics: http://spaceweather.com/comets/galle...ght_page12.htm 1976 Comet West: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_West Yep, I'm 0-2 in observing these great comets. :-( I remember that my first comet was Ikeya-Seki in 1966(?) and that I was fairly disappointed with it. It was pre the days of my owning anything optical - not even binoculars. It was whispier, dimmer and smaller than the press hype had led me to believe it would be. Bennett (1970?) was fairly spectacular. West I missed altogether - I think I was involved in an engineering project in a foreign city without the means to get to an unlit observing spot. The much maligned Halley, which I tracked with my first refractor (bought specially for the occasion), from a fuzzy blob in the Pleiades on its way into the sun until it faded, I can remember had a few mornings in February or March when it was fairly spectacular, given the constraints of the pass. Eugene L Griessel His was the sort of career that made the Recording Angel think seriously about taking up shorthand. |
#4
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Comparsion: Comet McNaught and Comet West
In article ,
JackPeters wrote: Very interesting how the extended tails of both these comets seem to be broken into "rays". Both comets reached peak magnitudes of around -3, visible in daylight, and were generally overlooked outside the astronomical community. 2007 Comet McNaught, recent pics: http://spaceweather.com/comets/galle...ght_page12.htm 1976 Comet West: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_West Yep, I'm 0-2 in observing these great comets. :-( Comet West and Comet McNaught are indeed similar, but in one respect they are the inverses of one another: Comet West was discovered in the far southern sky, moved rapidly northward around perihelion in 1976, and afterwards it became unexpectedly bright and got a long, interesting tail, to the delight of us northerners. Comet McNaught moved in the opposite direction around perihelion: from north to south, and is now unexpectedly bright and has a long interesting tail, to the delight of the southerners. One reason Comet West's brightness was unexpected is probably due to Comet Kohoutek in 1973-1974: Kohoutek was discovered 9 months before perihelion, which was unusually long by the standards at that time. Kohoutek would also have a small perihelion distance. Because of this, early predictions of Kohoutek's peak brightness were very optimistic, claiming that Kohoutek would exceed Venus, and even approach the Moon, in brightness. In reality, Kohoutek peaked around magnitude -1 but was then so close to the Sun in the sky that only Skylab astronauts could view this. When Kohoutek became visible to ground-based observers, it had dropped to well below magnitude 0 in brightness. This failed prediction of Kohoutek as "the comet of the century" probably caused a much more conservative prediction of Comet West's brightness, making the astronomers err in the other direction. As a result, Comet West became considerably brighter than expected. -- ---------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Schlyter, Grev Turegatan 40, SE-114 38 Stockholm, SWEDEN e-mail: pausch at stockholm dot bostream dot se WWW: http://stjarnhimlen.se/ |
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Comparsion: Comet McNaught and Comet West
There is ying and yang in astronomy. Everybody gets their fair view
and all are satisfied. Today with the internet, we can share our fair view with others straight away. Comet West came before I became fully astronomically aware but the rumblings from Kohoutek were re-awaken when Comet Austin (1990) failed to brighten to expectation. Pierre MK-UK Paul Schlyter wrote: Comet West and Comet McNaught are indeed similar, but in one respect they are the inverses of one another: Comet West was discovered in the far southern sky, moved rapidly northward around perihelion in 1976, and afterwards it became unexpectedly bright and got a long, interesting tail, to the delight of us northerners. Comet McNaught moved in the opposite direction around perihelion: from north to south, and is now unexpectedly bright and has a long interesting tail, to the delight of the southerners. One reason Comet West's brightness was unexpected is probably due to Comet Kohoutek in 1973-1974: Kohoutek was discovered 9 months before perihelion, which was unusually long by the standards at that time. Kohoutek would also have a small perihelion distance. Because of this, early predictions of Kohoutek's peak brightness were very optimistic, claiming that Kohoutek would exceed Venus, and even approach the Moon, in brightness. In reality, Kohoutek peaked around magnitude -1 but was then so close to the Sun in the sky that only Skylab astronauts could view this. When Kohoutek became visible to ground-based observers, it had dropped to well below magnitude 0 in brightness. This failed prediction of Kohoutek as "the comet of the century" probably caused a much more conservative prediction of Comet West's brightness, making the astronomers err in the other direction. As a result, Comet West became considerably brighter than expected. -- ---------------------------------------------------------------- Paul Schlyter, Grev Turegatan 40, SE-114 38 Stockholm, SWEDEN e-mail: pausch at stockholm dot bostream dot se WWW: http://stjarnhimlen.se/ |
#6
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Comparsion: Comet McNaught and Comet West
"Pierre" wrote:
There is ying and yang in astronomy. Everybody gets their fair view and all are satisfied. Today with the internet, we can share our fair view with others straight away. Comet West came before I became fully astronomically aware but the rumblings from Kohoutek were re-awaken when Comet Austin (1990) failed to brighten to expectation. Strange how things come back to bite - I rang a non-astro interested pal this evening to try and get him to go out to look at McNaught (tail was naked eye visible for about 30 to 35 degrees). He replied that he would not bother and he had not bothered since Kohoutek to look at comets. I was quite stumped. At the same time the moon occulted Venus - spectacular as well! Eugene L Griessel Men rarely (if ever) manage to dream up a God superior to themselves. Most Gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child. |
#7
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Comparsion: Comet McNaught and Comet West
Kohoutek suffered because of HYPE and also something that David Levy has said many times (not sure if this is the exact quote but I believe it is) "Comets are like cats; they both have tails and do what they want to" such as not brightening when they ought or fading out. Interestingly enough, West, which was very visible, before sunrise in ealry march 1976 (northern hemisphere) never got any hype at all. For anyone who is interested and who subscribes to "Amateur Astronomy Magazine" I wrote a small piece about my misadventure while looking at Comet West and I believe it's in one of the earlier (1,2 or 3) issues entitled "Comets". As to a total lack of interest in something celestial as bright as McNaught these days I refer you to the short anecdote I like to tell folks sometimes about an encounter I had with a couple on the Big Island in July 1991... You see I was lucky enough to find out that I was going to Hawaii instead of going to Paris to see my sis Anne graduate. I had NO formere knowledge of this until she told me as one of her roomates lived on the big Island and I was to stay with his parents. So I arrived on the big island, as they call it and before the eclipse I was looking for things to do. I met a couple waiting for a helicopter ride and chatted with them for a few minutes. They told me they were sightseeing and would leave before the eclipse. When I prodded and said to them that they should try and stay to see it they said they were due on another island! To me, that has to be the dummest most stupid things I have ever heard...to miss an eclipse a Total Solar Eclipse because of rank stupidity. It's one of the most awe inspiring things to see the sun & dark moon converge and the corona and the diamond ring...but maybe not so awe inspiring as a great aurora borealis. But then most folks never look up at the sky at all... How sad indeed |
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Comparsion: Comet McNaught and Comet West
Patrick Edward Murray wrote:
To me, that has to be the dummest most stupid things I have ever heard...to miss an eclipse a Total Solar Eclipse because of rank stupidity. "You can lead a horse to water..." But if they're so stupid they're being compared to horses you can't expect them to appreciate something as sublime as a solar eclipse from Hawaii. Shawn |
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