Gemini Spring 5.0.Qxd
http://www.mnastro.org Spring 2004 Discovering Comets Volume 29 Number 2 by J.B.Andersen Sometime ago I heard two people talking at a sky party about making a name for themselves in the field of astronomy. They both agreed that find- In the pages of ing a comet was the best route. I started to see glory. I began to see the 15 the Gemini minutes of fame that Andy Warhol said we all have. I began doing research about comet hunting and that research led to the writing of this paper. I have divided the paper into five sections: equipment, MAS Picnic how to search the sky, time commitment, attitude of the observer, and a bib- liography. Patti Neavin…Pages 4 Equipment The three factors affecting comet discovery, and any visual Messier Marathon observing, are eyes, sky, and telescope. 2004 Wrapup For comet hunting a pair of binoculars, a telescope, some sky Steve Emert…Pages 5 charts, and a good knowledge of the sky are necessary. Binoculars. The minimum aperture used for a comet discovery Messier Marathon 2004 was a pair of 7x35 binoculars by William Bradfield in 1980. Alan Touchberry…Pages 5 However, large binoculars are generally used for areas near the hori- zon. Donald Machholz, discoverer of 8 comets, uses a pair of home made 5 inch binoculars.(1) MAS Photo Page Telescope. A large telescope, such as the 10 inch reflector used Matthew T.Russell, by Machholz, searches areas farther from the setting sun; away Eric Smestad from the horizon. Howard Brewington, another avid comet hunter …Pages 7,8,9 uses a 16 inch telescope that he built.(2) However, smaller instru- ments are adequate.
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