Eyes to the skies- big comet coming end of the year

[thelerner]

I remember Haley Bopp in '97, large but a bit faint. Its been a while since anything exciting was in the skies. It'd be great to have another epic comet next year, especially one brighter then the moon, filling the sky for weeks. Could you imagine a comet so bright its tail was visible in the daytime? Any how here is info, I'll try to update it every few months.

 

By Irene Klotz

(Reuters) - A comet blazing toward Earth could outshine the full moon when it passes by at the end of next year - if it survives its close encounter with the sun.

 

The recently discovered object, known as comet ISON, is due to fly within 1.2 million miles (1.9 million km) from the center of the sun on November 28, 2013 said astronomer Donald Yeomans, head of NASA's Near Earth Object Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

 

As the comet approaches, heat from the sun will vaporize ices in its body, creating what could be a spectacular tail that is visible in Earth's night sky without telescopes or even binoculars from about October 2013 through January 2014.

 

If the comet survives, that is. Comet ISON could break apart as it nears the sun, or it could fail to produce a tail of ice particles visible from Earth.

 

Celestial visitors like Comet ISON hail from the Oort Cloud, a cluster of frozen rocks and ices that circle the sun about 50,000 times farther away than Earth's orbit. Every so often, one will be gravitationally bumped out from the cloud and begin a long solo orbit around the sun.

 

On September 21, two amateur astronomers from Russia spotted what appeared to be a comet in images taken by a 16-inch (0.4-meter) telescope that is part of the worldwide International Scientific Optical Network, or ISON, from which the object draws its name.

 

"The object was slow and had a unique movement. But we could not be certain that it was a comet because the scale of our images are quite small and the object was very compact," astronomer Artyom Novichonok, one of the discoverers, wrote in a comets email list hosted by Yahoo.

 

Novichonok and co-discoverer Vitali Nevski followed up the next night with a bigger telescope at the Maidanak Observatory in Uzbekistan. Other astronomers did likewise, confirming the object, located beyond Jupiter's orbit in the constellation Cancer, was indeed a comet.

 

"It's really rare, exciting," Novichonok wrote.

 

Comet ISON's path is very similar to a comet that passed by Earth in 1680, one which was so bright its tail reportedly could be seen in daylight. The projected orbit of comet ISON is so similar to the 1680 comet that some scientists are wondering if they are fragments from a common parent body.

 

"Comet ISON…could be the brightest comet seen in many generations - brighter even than the full moon," wrote British astronomer David Whitehouse in The Independent.

 

In 2013, Earth has two shots at a comet show. Comet Pan-STARRS is due to pass by the planet in March, eight months before ISON's arrival.

 

NASA's Mars Curiosity rover may be able to provide a preview. Comet ISON is due to pass by the red planet in September and could be a target for the rover from its vantage point inside Gale Crater.

 

The last comet to dazzle Earth's night-time skies was Comet Hale-Bopp, which visited in 1997. Comet 17P/Holmes made a brief appearance in 2007.

Edited December 30, 2012 by thelerner

[Marblehead]

Oh, No! We're going to die again!!!

 

Yeah, I've watched a couple documentaries on this. This next passing is supposed to miss us but if, when it goes around Earth, it passes through a certain "window" it could hit Earth the next time it comes around.

[Cat Pillar]

I think you're thinking of Apophis, Marblehead.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99942_Apophis

[Marblehead]

I think you're thinking of Apophis, Marblehead.

 

http://en.wikipedia....i/99942_Apophis

Sometimes I have no idea what I'm talking about. Hehehe.

[Cat Pillar]

Sometimes I have no idea what I'm talking about. Hehehe.

 

Same here. Sometimes it's fun to talk anyways.

[thelerner]

Comet Ison update. Its brightening up but as much as predicted. Best visibility is looking east and low on the horizon a half hour or so before sunrise using binoculars. It should continue to brighten through Dec 1st.

[thelerner]

Son of a bitch. Looks like the Earth wasn't destroyed, but the comet was. Damn you sun's gravitation force.

 

No sign of comet after pass around sun: scientists

By Irene Klotz 3 hours ago

.

View gallery

Comet ISON is pictured in this November 19, 2013 handout photo by NASA, taken using a 14-inch telescope …

By Irene Klotz

(Reuters) - A comet's 5.5-million-year journey to the inner solar system apparently ended during a suicidal trip around the sun, leaving no trace of its once-bright tail or even remnants of rock and dust, scientists said on Thursday.

 

The comet, known as ISON, was discovered last year when it was still far beyond Jupiter, raising the prospect of a spectacular naked-eye object by the time it graced Earth's skies in December.

 

Comet ISON passed just 730,000 miles (1.2 million km) from the surface of the sun at 1:37 p.m. EST/1837 GMT on Thursday. Astronomers used a fleet of solar telescopes to look for the comet after its slingshot around the sun, but to no avail.

"I'm not seeing anything that emerged from the behind the solar disk. That could be the nail in the coffin," astrophysicist Karl Battams, with the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, said during a live broadcast on NASA TV."

Edited November 28, 2013 by thelerner

[Marblehead]

Yep. It's all gone and we are still here. Now we will have to find something else to worry about.

[xor]

Some were disappointed it went out with a fizzle since it was supposed to be an event.

[Taomeow]

Didn't happen, guys. It survived and emerged, brightened again, and is "unpredictable" again.

 

 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/29/us/ison-comet/

[Marblehead]

Didn't happen, guys. It survived and emerged, brightened again, and is "unpredictable" again.

 

 

http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/29/us/ison-comet/

Yea! We can still worry about it. Hehehe.

 

Is the media playing games with us?

[xor]

Usually when I give in to worry the reality will be completely different. So it would have been better if I just centered myself in the first place and watched events unfold.

[Taomeow]

Yea! We can still worry about it. Hehehe.

 

Is the media playing games with us?

 

But how.

 

I I-Chinged it and got four changing lines. Someone who has done hundreds of readings would know how rare and extraordinary it is, and how difficult to interpret. This is a highly stochastic comet.

[Brian]

Perhaps it is wormwood!

 

In any event, I am recalling my submarine until this is all straightened out...

 

[h.uriahr]

So is Doomagaden still on??

[Taomeow]

The next step after "highly stochastic" is known as "imbued with free will."

 

This is a comet that may choose to do doom or not to do doom. (As a Prince of Denmark almost said.)

Edited November 29, 2013 by Taomeow

[thelerner]

Its an interesting psychological twist that many wouldn't mind seeing the whole world destroyed, many would actually look forward to it. They'd balk if it was just there own deaths, or a few people, but if every died at once, they'd be somehow fulfilled.

 

Maybe its a way to feel special. Other generations weren't so -blank- but we are, so we get special treatment.

Back on subject GOoo Ison

[Nungali]

They still are not sure, it is loosing magnitude and may just be a dust cloud or there may be some chinks of ice left in it.

 

This site has a map for where when to view it.

 

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/ataglance?..

[Nungali]

Cloudy again here this pre-dawn

 

Anyone sighted anything?

[thelerner]

No big comet, but we have this for the next few weeks: http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/red-planet-rising-mars-shines-brighter-it-has-years-n72501

 

If you want to see Mars at its best, now's your time: This month, the Red Planet looks bigger and brighter than it has for the past six years.

 

That may sound like the Great Mars Hoax — the occasional (and totally false) claim that Mars will loom as big as the moon in the night sky. But in this case, the claim is totally true. This month, Mars will have its closest encounter with Earth since December 2007.

 

The reason has to do with orbital mechanics. As Earth and Mars trace their elliptical orbits around the sun, the distance between the two planets varies dramatically. There are times when the separation amounts to almost 250 million miles (400 million kilometers). On April 14, that separation narrows to a mere 57 million miles (92 million kilometers).

 

"These opportunities only come about every two years," said Alan MacRobert, senior editor for Sky & Telescope magazine. "Most of the time, Mars is pretty darn far away."

Sky & Telescope

This chart helps you locate Mars in the east-southeast sky an hour after sunset, as seen from mid-northern latitudes. On April 14, the moon and the bright star Spica pair up just below Mars.

Mars is easy to spot in the night sky: For skywatchers living in mid-northern latitudes, it sparkles like a yellow-orange gem in the southeast just after dark. By the middle of the month, the planet will get as bright as the star Sirius. Mars is currently moving through the constellation Virgo — which means it makes a pretty pairing with Spica, a nearby blue-white star.

 

For a real treat, gaze at Mars through a telescope. Under optimal viewing conditions, even a 4-inch telescope can reveal light and dark regions on the planet's disk, and maybe even dust storms.

 

The northern hemisphere is tipped toward Earth, highlighting the north polar cap in Martian springtime. "The polar cap shrinks as the season advances and exposes the dark ground beneath it," MacRobert said. "You can follow this week by week with a good amateur telescope."

 

To identify the features you see through the lens, use Sky & Telescope's Mars Profiler to generate a map that's just right for your coordinates and observing time. Check out Damian Peach's guide to photographing Mars, and connect with other skywatchers via your local astronomy club or the ALPO Mars online portal.

[thelerner]

Perseid Meteor Shower Expected To Peak This Week         http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/perseid-meteor-shower-peak_55c8b1cde4b0f73b20b9e03c?utm_hp_ref=chicago&ir=Chicago&section=chicago&kvcommref=mostpopular

The celestial display promises to be especially spectacular.  Steven Hoffer Senior Editor, The Huffington Post

Posted: 08/10/2015 12:17 PM EDTThe annual Perseid meteor shower is set to make a dazzling late summer appearance this week.

 

Stargazers are especially excited because this year marks the first time since 2010 that the meteor shower aligns with a new moon, making for ideal dark skies, according to CNN.

 

Even better, there's no need to run out and purchase an expensive telescope to witness the light show. All that's required to enjoy this wonder of nature is a clear night and a view from the Northern Hemisphere.

 

The celestial display is expected to peak during the overnight hours of Aug. 12 into the morning of Aug. 13. Meteors will be visible starting around 10 p.m., but the best time to catch a glimpse will be around 4 a.m. Eastern Time, "when up to 100 meteors per hour may be visible from a dark sky," according to NASA.

[thelerner]

< (5 years later I'm writing it again )  The Perseid Meteor shower peaks tonight.  If you have clear skies, look to them in the North. 

https://www.thrillist.com/news/nation/how-to-watch-perseid-meteor-shower-2020-peak-time-live-stream

 

"Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office tells Thrillist that the Perseids are expected to produce 60-80 meteors per hour at its peak this year. If you want to see the best the Perseids have to offer, here's what you need to know. 

When does the Perseid meteor shower peak?

The Perseids hit their peak the night of August 11 into the morning of August 12. Cooke says the meteor shower is best seen after midnight local time when the Earth (or where you're standing) is facing into the trail of comet debris that causes the display.

However, NASA says that the hours around dawn in the days around the peak aren't a bad time to look for meteors either. Though, there certainly won't be as many visible meteors as you'll see on the night of the peak. "

[silent thunder]

We usually go camping for the Perseids.  Our favorite spot is @ 7,800 feet near the top of Black Mountain in Boulder Basin campground.  At that altitude the viewing is nothing short of gobsmackingly good. 

 

Next year...