Archives for the 'comets' Category
Another Comet Holmes Photo
Published on 27 Oct 2007 at 4:22 pm.
1 Comment.
Filed under astrophotography, comets.
Here is another photo of Comet P/17 Holmes. It was taken by Steve Tuttle, and he gave me permission to post it on my web page. He’s a very good astrophotographer, and he’s got some good photos on his web site. Click on the photo for a larger view and more information […]
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Comet Holmes Update
Published on 26 Oct 2007 at 10:43 am.
13 Comments.
Filed under astrophotography, comets.
Comet 17P/Holmes continues to be bright. Last night I set up a telescope with a few students of the astronomy club and managed to take the following pictures. They aren’t great, but they give an impression of what the comet looks like.
The images were taken with a Nikon D70 at prime focus on […]
Naked Eye Comet!!!!
Published on 25 Oct 2007 at 1:52 am.
11 Comments.
Filed under comets, observing.
Wow. Earlier today, I read Tom’s posting that a comet had suddenly brightened. The comet in question is Comet 17P/Holmes. Normally, this comet is pretty dim and uninspiring. In fact, as recently as in the last few days, it was quite dim. Then, suddenly, the comet went into an outburst. […]
Tempel 1: Another look
Published on 19 Oct 2007 at 12:23 am.
3 Comments.
Filed under comets.
On April 3, 1867, astronomer Ernst Wilhelm Liebrecht Tempel discovered a rather dim unremarkable comet. Tempel discovered or co-discovered 21 comets and 5 asteroids. The comet of 1897, Comet Tempel 1 (9P/Tempel) is the first comet credited to Tempel. Comet 9P/Tempel has never been very impressive, reportedly never being brighter than about […]
Comet McNaught Update
Published on 28 Feb 2007 at 3:22 pm.
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It’s been a while since my last postings on Comet McNaught (here and here). And, a reader asked a question on another post about where the comet is heading. I thought that others might be interested, so I looked up some information to share with everyone.
Comet C/2006 P1 (Comet McNaught) is now about […]
Orbits and eccentricities
Published on 20 Jan 2007 at 10:58 pm.
11 Comments.
Filed under comets, physics.
“When is Comet McNaught coming back?” everyone is asking me. It has been mostly cloudy for a month in many places in the Northern Hemisphere. Most people that I know missed the comet, and I only saw it the one time from the airplane’s window. The farther south, the harder it was […]
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Comet McNaught’s Tail
Published on 15 Jan 2007 at 1:08 pm.
6 Comments.
Filed under comets.
A reader posted a question on my earlier Comet McNaught post about the tail of the comet. Rather than answering that in the comments of that post, I decided to devote a whole posting to answer the question. John’s question was why Comet McNaught’s tail didn’t seem to be pointed away […]
