Posted on 12/08/2004 8:40:35 PM PST by Right Wing Professor
A comet discovered earlier this year has now moved close enough to be visible without binoculars or telescopes by experienced observers under dark skies. It is expected to put on a modest show this month and into January.
Comet Machholz will be at its closest to Earth Jan. 5-6, 2005, when it will be 32 million miles (51 million kilometers) away.
People with dark rural skies and a good map should be able to find it on Moon-free nights now into January.
Backyard astronomers have been watching Machholz for months through telescopes. It was spotted by naked-eye observers for the first time about three weeks ago from the Southern Hemisphere, said Donald Machholz, who discovered the frozen chunk of rock and ice in August.
"I saw it last night for the first time with the naked eye," Machholz told SPACE.com Friday.
Comets are made of rocky material and icy mixtures of water and various other chemicals. As a comet approaches the Sun, the surface is heated and essentially boils off. Scientists call the process sublimation. The gas and dust creates a head, also called a coma, and sometimes a tail. Sunlight reflects off the material, making some comets visible from Earth.
Comet Machholz, officially named c/2004 Q2, is not expected to produce the sort of spectacular display put on by comet Hale-Bopp in 1997 or the periodically stunning Halley's comet.
Astronomers cannot say exactly how bright Machholz will get, because it is notoriously difficult to predict the behavior of comets making their first observed close trip around the Sun. Scientists don't fully understand the composition of comets, nor their variety, so they don't know how much stuff will sublimate nor how fast.
Machholz is expected to reach magnitude 4.0, based on an early estimate. On this astronomers' scale, smaller numbers represent brighter objects. The dimmest things visible under perfectly dark skies are around magnitude 6.5. The brightest star, Sirius, is magnitude minus 1.42.
Recent observations suggest Machholz will do at least as well as first predicted.
"The comet is doing better than expected and is about 0.5 magnitudes brighter than expected," Machholz said. "So it will probably get brighter than the Andromeda Galaxy, brighter than magnitude 4.0."
The Andromeda Galaxy is the furthest object visible to the unaided human eye under dark skies. It is a magnitude 3.4 object.
If the comet were to become roughly magnitude 3.0, it would still appear common among the sea of stars available to dark-sky observers. City and suburban dwellers would likely not find it without optical aid. In either case, binoculars or a small telescope might reveal the comet as more of a fuzzy patch, and if it develops a significant tail, that could be visible too.
Machholz, who has found nine other comets, suggests looking for his latest discovery when the Moon is out of the picture, such as around Dec. 11 when it will be at its New phase.
"The comet can still be seen when the Moon is out, but it will be difficult," he said by email. "Use binoculars or a wide-field (low power) telescope, and/or get to a dark site."
The comet is low on the horizon now, where the atmosphere makes for poor viewing. By early January, the comet will be much higher in the sky, improving viewing conditions.
I haven't yet found a decent online map of its current and predicted positions; if I can't find one tomorrow, I'll draw one and post it.
Nice!
bump
Maybe we will get lucky and it will change course and hit mecca.
Haven't seen a star dimmer than mag 4 for years in this light-polluted town. Mag 3 is the usual limit, which gives us about two dozen stars on the usual clear night. M31 is still visible in spite of that, but that's only because I have been watching it for decades. In prior times before we decided to light up the night this comet would have been easy almost anywhere, even downtown Manhattan now and then. Experienced observers are rare birds.
Actually it was discovered using a telescope. It just recently became visible to naked-eye observers.
"Backyard astronomers have been watching Machholz for months through telescopes. It was spotted by naked-eye observers for the first time about three weeks ago from the Southern Hemisphere, said Donald Machholz, who discovered the frozen chunk of rock and ice in August."
Machholz is probably using some sort of sky searching software looking for moving objects since he is the discoverer of 9 other comets. Not bad for a backyard amateur!
I'd like to move back to the boonies myself someday so I can see the night sky again, and plink tin cans from my back porch anytime I want, if I so desire. Question is, will I make it before my eyes give out completely. :-(
Ohhhhhhh! . . . Misread that one, didn't I? Thanks.
Fairbanks. Think it's the boonies? Many do. This place is lighted so you could see it from Mars. Anchorage is probably worse. Fairbanks is also the 4th most dangerous metropolitan area in the country, that's right, which all the artificial light hasn't done anything to help.
Thanks! Now, if we could only do something about these clouds...
Any chances of getting all the Senators who voted for the Stupidity Reform Bill today, to join a cult and get on the spacecraft that's following it?
That would be... bad. For everyone... everywhere.
Wow, I had NO idea. Yeah, I always thought Anchorage, and especially Fairbanks, were relatively small and safe. Never been to Alaska. Always been a dream of mine.
Dang. I went outside and looked up, but all I could see was the Sears Tower...
Here's his story...
Machholz Discovery
great graphic - thanks for posting...
Anchorage is over 250,000 population now. Much like any other city of similar size it has the same problems. But a half-hours drive will get you in the boonies and a half-hours flight will get you beyond the road system to areas where you'll rarely see another human.
Very helpful tips. Thanks!
Thanks for the ping.
I've found a little photoshop enhancement does wonders with digital photos of the sky. In any case, I'll give it a shot myself this evening.
Of course, if you wait a month, you may be able to get a nice wide-angle shot with the comet and the Pleiades.
Trying to figure out how to get beyond the 30-second max time exposure on my camera. It doesn't have the bulb setting. Otherwise won't be able to get the pix.
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