New Comet for the New Year 126
spac3manspiff writes "The news has several stories about a fairly new comet named Comet Machholz discovered by Don Machholz. The comet will be able to be seen in the sky on Jan. 1 and Jan. 2 or Jan. 5 through 8. Along with the comet's appearance: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn will all be able to be seen with a naked eye this month. However, you will need binoculars to see the comet."
Quibble (Score:3, Funny)
RTFA (Score:5, Informative)
Re:RTFA (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:RTFA (Score:2)
The comet will be able to be seen in the sky
Re:RTFA (Score:3, Funny)
Re:RTFA (Score:2)
Hey, c'mon; he was just following the old rule that any spelling or grammar flame will contain a mispeling or a grammer eror.
Of course; his really was neither; it was just commenting on a spectacularly awkward bit of phraseology. But the principle still applies.
Re:RTFA (Score:2)
And I wouldn't worry too much about posting under your username. Really, what does it matter? Especially when you're having pedantic fun
Re:RTFA (Score:3, Interesting)
Besides I wasn't gonna stand out there in my bvd's for very long, I've got a cold & miserable.
But, if it was clear, I'd sure have my 7x35's out to take a look, it seems that the huge majority of the so-called naked eye comets have coincided with mostly overcast skys for the last 20 years.
Its a crying shame when man can't see off the planet he was born on, and its man thats responsib
Re:RTFA (Score:1)
Re:RTFA (Score:3, Insightful)
That's not necessarily true (Score:2)
Comet magnitudes (as well as galaxies and nebulae) are integrated magnitudes. That is, the magnitude measurement comes from integrating the light over the entire "surface" of the object. The magnitude is calculated from the total amount of light gathered from the object over the entire area of the sky that the object occupies.
In other words, those 3.5 magnitudes are spread out over the entire "surface" of the comet, as opposed to a 3.5 magnitude star, in which the light is almost perfectly concentrated i
Re:Concurrence of Fate (Score:2)
Any news yet of another natural disaster sent to wipe out the fathers who sold their children into prostitution in the first place or the American tourists who fly to Thailand to have sex with children?
Re:Concurrence of Fate (Score:1)
Re:Concurrence of Fate (Score:1)
Re:Concurrence of Fate (Score:1)
Re:Concurrence of Fate (Score:2)
or even plate tectonics...
See what? (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Cool. (Score:2)
These folks haven't bothered to note if this one is 1 or 2, so I can't tell if this one is a previous entry or not from looking in the kstars catalogs of visible objects. It could be yet another new one, and I suspect it is since its period is 119,000 years, makeing it unlikely this particular Don
Where will it be? (Score:2, Insightful)
I read TFA, but I have no idea where to look for this thing. Does anyone know where to look, say, if you live in upstate New York?
Re:Where will it be? (Score:2, Funny)
In the sky.
Re:Where will it be? (Score:5, Informative)
The Iridium flares are quite spectacular -- extremely bright if you're in the right place at the right time.
Re:Where will it be? (Score:1)
Re:Where will it be? (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Where will it be? (Score:5, Informative)
When an upstater says 'upstate', they mean pretty much all of New York State, except New York City. Many people from outside of the 'upstate' area (as I refer to it), seem to think that upstate only means up in the Northeast corner. This includes people from the City.
Re:Where will it be? (Score:1)
But maybe that's just me...
Re:Where will it be? (Score:1, Informative)
http://www.skymaps.com/downloads.html [skymaps.com]
Each month you can download a PDF format sky map which has a list of naked eye visibly, binocular and telescope visible objects of interest. The one for January shows you where the comet is.
Re:Where will it be? (Score:1)
Re:Where will it be? (Score:5, Informative)
- Above and to your right of Orion (when he's standing straight up) is Taurus, of which bright orange Aldebaran is most visible.
- Keep following that line a few more degrees (I'd say about 3 fingers, your arm stretched out) and you'lle see a fuzzy 7-star cluster - that's the Peliades. Ninth of this month, the comet should be right next to it.
Here's a handy map:
http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/charts.html [nasa.gov]
Jw
It will be here.. (Score:5, Informative)
Checkout this handy guide: Comet Machhholz(C/2004 Q2) [heavens-above.com]
It helps if you first register your observing location.
Re:Where will it be? (Score:4, Funny)
Upwards?
Re:Where will it be? (Score:2)
Cheers, Gene
Re:Where will it be? (Score:1)
Re:Where will it be? (Score:1)
Article got it wrong... (Score:5, Funny)
Bob Comet (Score:2, Funny)
Map (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Map (Score:5, Informative)
http://encke.jpl.nasa.gov/charts.html [nasa.gov]
Jw
Re:Map (Score:2, Insightful)
I found it pretty quickly from the guide in Sky and Telescope, although the suggested spotting map will work just fine, too. I used a pair of 10x30 binocs and spotted it almost instantly. Took me another minute to make sure I wasn't looking at some other nebula. My non-techie wife was able to spot it just about as quickly - said it kind of pops out at you as you scan the heavens in th
kstars (Score:5, Informative)
If you need to figure out where in the sky those planets are, try kstars [kde.org]. It is one of the better planetarium-type apps out there.
Now if only the 'summer' skies over New Zealand would clear for a night, I can actually make use of my shiny new telescope [astronomy.co.nz].
--
Stellar Linux VPS Hosting [rimuhosting.com]
Re:kstars (Score:1)
"Stellarium is a free GPL software which renders realistic skies in real time with openGL. It is available for Linux/Unix, Windows and MacOSX. With Stellarium, you really see what you can see with your eyes, binoculars or a small telescope."
Aw man, not again. (Score:5, Funny)
Could somebody please explain to me why I have to be naked to view these things? It's especially nasty now in January.
Re:Aw man, not again. (Score:1)
How to see it (Score:5, Informative)
It is these types of comets that frustrate people who are interested in astronomy but don't know where to look.
You will not see it with the naked eye unless you are under very dark skies away from city lights. You will have more luck with binoculars and even then it will only appear as a dim smudge of light.
Finding it in the sky will be an exercise in frustration unless you are already comfortable orienteering the night sky. Your best bet will be on January 8th, when the comet will be just to the right of the Pleiades, an easily locatable star cluster in Taurus.
This page [skyandtelescope.com] at Sky & Telescope has a decent finder map. Happy hunting and even if you don't see it, enjoy the night air. It's good for you...
Re:terrible writing, but what about viewing? (Score:2)
"be visible to the naked eye"
which is more concise? which is prettier? which is clearer?
And is either one true? If you can locate and see the Andromeda galaxy with your undressed, er, unaided eye (I just barely can, and I'm in pretty dark skies 60 miles away from a major city), you might be able to see Comet Machholz unaided, but as of last night (dark skies before the moon rose) I can't, not without binoculars. Maybe it will be a little brighter over the next week o
So the comet gets 2 days off.... (Score:3, Informative)
What a bogus statement! The comet does not thake a few days off, it's going to be just as visable on January 3rd and 4th as on January 2nd and January 5th. There's a nice chart here [skyandtelescope.com] that shows where in the sky to expect it each night.
Re:So the comet gets 2 days off.... (Score:2)
Well, unless it's supposed to be overcast on the 3rd and 4th, anyhow.
(Here, the comet's gonna be a few days late in arriving for that reason. Le sigh.)
Re:So the comet gets 2 days off.... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:So the comet gets 2 days off.... (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:impact probability... (Score:1)
Thoughts for observing (Score:5, Informative)
It's been quite bright (for a comet) in southern hemisphere skies for about a month now, and it's certainly worth going out to look at. I went out to look at it (from where I live in New Zealand) on December 11th. It was very easy to find in binoculars then (although I'm an amateur astronomer)... that was about mag 5.5. I haven't had a chance to see it since then because of bad weather.
If it's approaching mag 3.5 as the article suggests, it's getting very bright for a comet. If you're in reasonably unpolluted skies and know where to look, you might see it with an unaided eye. If you can't, though, you could probably see it in binoculars at least from low-lit suburban areas if you keep away from glare. Look with binoculars anyway, if you can, and you'll see a lot more. Frequently a reasonable pair of binoculars will reveal a lot more than a toy department store telescope.
If you're not sure where to look, keep in mind that you may also be able to contact a local observatory or astronomical society, and ask if they're having any open nights where you can have a look at it.
Don't expect anything really spectacular, of course. Most comets are a smudge on the background of the sky. Give your eyes time to adjust to what you're seeing, too. Like most thinks in amateur astronomy, you see more for the longer that you look at them. If you watch the comet over several nights, you may also see the appearence change quite a lot.
The linked yahoo article is quite misleading when it mentions brightness. It states that it's possible to see down to mag 6.5 in the most unpolluted skies. I think the author is confusing the difference between point sources of light, such as stars, and other sources. Comets are diffuse objects, and the comet magnitude describes the total amount of light that the surface emits. For this reason, a comet will appear significantly fainter than a star of the same magnitude. The exact difference depends on just how diffuse the comet is. Keep in mind, though, that even though it's bright, it's unlikely to leap out at you.
Re:Thoughts for observing (Score:4, Informative)
Here's a chart good through tonight (1/1/2005) and tomorrow:
http://www.skyhound.com/sh/2004_Q2.gif [skyhound.com]
Here's one good through the 10th,
http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/
that URL is one of the botom three current pics here:
http://members.csolutions.net/fisherka/astronote/
More info and photographs on the newsgroup as well as all over the web, as always.
Re:Thoughts for observing (Score:2)
Not something since Hale Bopp (Score:2)
That was truly amazing.
The Comet Machholz must not be too big because no "Heaven's Gate Type Cult" has been found dead with Nikes on their feet and cyanide laced lips yet!
Re:Not something since Hale Bopp (Score:3, Funny)
Marshall Applewhite? (Score:2)
Re:Not something since Hale Bopp (Score:2)
I remember watching the re-release of Star Wars at the local drive-in theater in a convertible with the top down. The normal evening overcast (I'm on the US West Coast) formed a strange hole over the area through which I could see lots of stars and a rather bright Hale-Bopp.
That was a very intense evening, watching space-fantasy on the big screen and space-reality on the *really* big screen...
Re:Not something since Hale Bopp (Score:1)
But will it... (Score:1)
Anyone for "I survived 1/1/2005" underwear?
A seriously humble guy: (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:A seriously humble guy: (Score:2)
Re:A seriously humble guy: (Score:1)
Comets are always named after their discoverer(s).
1991 XII Machholz
1978l Machholz
1985e Machholz
1986e Machholz
1988j Machholz
1992d Tanaka-Machholz
1992k Machholz
1994m Nakamura-Nishimura-Machholz
1994o Machholz
1994r Machholz
C/2004 Q2 Machholz
Re:A seriously humble guy: (Score:2)
What I was poking a bit of fun at, is the press coverage of Shoemaker-Levy 9 hitting Jupiter got the "9" part right, and most of the coverage of this event (including here on
What are the odds? (Score:5, Funny)
Wow! What are the odds that the guy would discover a commet which has his same last name! Amazing.
And its not like Machholz is a popular last name among commets either!
Re:What are the odds? (Score:1)
To see Machholz* (Score:2, Informative)
- face south
- point your arm up at 11 o'clock
There is a cluster of stars, the Pleiades.
-- a little beneath that, to the left, is a "triangle" of stars, much more spaced out than the Pleiades. This is Taurus**.
The Pleiades, Taurus and Machholz make an almost perfect triangle - Machholz being the bottom right point.
It will be smudge-like, like a little cloud.
kulakovich
* I'm in North America, you insensitive clod!
** yes, one appears to be a "double" star. ~ six stars total inc
Re:To see Machholz* (Score:1)
Re:To see Machholz* (Score:1)
how much better is it going to get as it nears the pleiades?
Re:To see Machholz* (Score:1)
Naked eye (Score:2)
You forgot Earth. :)
Re:Naked eye (Score:1)
Great, now the comet is going to be /.-ed !!! (Score:1)
Comet responsible for the tsunami? (Score:1)
Re:Comet responsible for the tsunami? (Score:2)
Yes.
Omen? (Score:1)
Just took a look at it (Score:2)
If you can find the Seven Sisters and Orion then you can easily find the comet relative to them.
Dan East
Heavens gate (Score:1)
Move along now (Score:1)
Re:Crush Earth? (Score:2)
Re:Your sig! Your sig! (Score:2)
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Re:Crush Earth? (Score:1)
Re:...omelet? (Score:2)
Re: omet? (Score:1)
> I think they mean Comet.
Shame on a bunch of Slashdotters for not knowing their Star Trek trivia! [imdb.com]