The Comet's Tale and (Spacewatch), 1998 M5 Need of Observation
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THE COMET’S TALE Newsletter of the Comet Section of the British Astronomical Association Volume 6, No 2 (Issue 12), 1999 October THE SECOND INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP ON COMETARY ASTRONOMY New Hall, Cambridge, 1999 August 14 - 16 After months of planning and much hard work the participants for the second International Workshop on Cometary Astronomy began to assemble at New Hall, Cambridge on the afternoon and evening of Friday, August 13th. New Hall is one of the more recent Cambridge colleges and includes a centre built for Japanese students as well as accommodation for the graduate and undergraduate students. It is a women’s college and a few participants were later disturbed by the night porter doing his rounds and making sure that all ground floor windows were closed. A hearty dinner was provided, but afterwards I had to leave to continue last minute preparations for the morning. He had searched 1000 hours since Most discoveries were from On Saturday morning, Dan Green 1994 without a discovery. If the Japan, USA and Australia. and Jon Shanklin made a few Edgar Wilson award had been in Southern Hemisphere observers opening announcements. We had operation he would have netted an only discover southern declination nine comet discoverers present average of $4000 a year, though comets, however northern and five continents were some years would be more hemisphere observers find them in represented. The next meeting rewarding and others less. His both hemispheres. There is no would take place in 4 – 5 years search technique is to scan significant trend in discovery time, possibly in America. For east/west and move down in the declination. most of the day the British morning sky. There are three Continued on page 11 Astronomical Association had a conditions for success – you must sales desk in the entrance foyer to look, the comet must be bright Contents New Hall, with a range of eclipse enough and you must find it first. memorabilia on offer, as well as His first three comets were closer copies of cometary publications. Comet Section contacts 2 to the sun than those previously Section news 2 discovered by amateurs in the Tales from the Past 3 Don Machholz gave the opening previous 25 years. Type 1 comets talk about comet hunting. He used Professional Tales 3 are 30 – 60 deg from the Sun in Review of observations 5 to live in a light polluted site and the morning sky, bright, few in drove out to Lomo Prieta for Comet hunting notes 10 number and have small q. Type 2 IWCA Report (cont) 11 comet searching. In 1990 he lie in the evening sky 60 – 120 moved 180 miles to the small Observation of 2P/Encke 17 deg from the Sun, are dim, The comet of 1807 17 town of Colfax (pop 1000) and common and have large q. has since discovered five comets. Predictions for 2000 18 BAA COMET SECTION NEWSLETTER 2 THE COMET’S TALE Comet Section contacts Director: Jonathan Shanklin, 11 City Road, CAMBRIDGE. CB1 1DP, England. Phone: (+44) (0)1223 571250 (H) or (+44) (0)1223 221400 (W) Fax: (+44) (0)1223 362616 (W) E-Mail: [email protected] or [email protected] WWW page : http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/~jds/ Assistant Director (Observations): Guy Hurst, 16 Westminster Close, Kempshott Rise, BASINGSTOKE, Hampshire. (and also Editor of RG22 4PP, England. The Astronomer magazine) Phone & Fax: (+44) (0)1256 471074 E-Mail: [email protected] or [email protected] CCD Advisor: Nick James, 11 Tavistock Road, CHELMSFORD, Essex. CM1 5JL, England. Phone: (+44) (0)1245 354366 E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] Photographic Advisor: Michael Hendrie, Overbury, 33 Lexden Road, West Bergholt, COLCHESTER, Essex, CO6 3BX, England Phone: (+44) (0)1206 240021 Subscription to the Section newsletter costs £5 for two years, extended to three years for members who contribute to the work of the Section in any way. Renewals should be sent to the Director and cheques made payable to the BAA. Those due to renew should receive a reminder with this mailing. Section news from the Director Dear Section member, forward to close co-operation (P/Jager), 1998 U5 (LINEAR), between the two groups. 1999 F2 (Dalcanton), 1999 H1 As you will read elsewhere in this (Lee), 1999 H3 (LINEAR), 1999 issue the IWCA was very Since the last newsletter J2 (Skiff), 1999 J3 (LINEAR), successful and an enjoyable time observations or contributions have 1999 K2 (Ferris), 1999 K3 was had by all participants. I was been received from the following (LINEAR), 1999 K5 (LINEAR), pleased to see a good BAA members: Sally Beaumont, 1999 K6 (LINEAR), 1999 K8 representation from British Denis Buczynski, John Fletcher, (LINEAR), 1999 L2 (LINEAR), amateurs and hope that the next James Fraser, Maurice Gavin, 1999 N2 (Lynn), 1999 S3 workshop, likely to be held in the Werner Hasubick, Guy Hurst, (LINEAR), 1999 S4 (LINEAR). USA in five years time will see an Nick James, Martin Mobberley, equally large British contingent. Bob Neville, Gabriel Oksa, Roy Many of the fainter comets were Panther, Jonathan Shanklin, David observed by Seiichi Yoshida who On September 17 I became the Storey, David Strange, John is using a CCD camera on an 18 proud discoverer of a comet Vetterlein and Alex Vincent cm reflector to very good effect. myself. As with many discoveries It is pleasing to have received a there was an element of luck to it, and also from: Jose Aguiar, few CCD observations from UK in that I just happened to be the Alexandr Baransky, John Bortle, observers over the summer and I first person to scan the real time Reinder Bouma, Jose Carvajal, hope the winter will bring many images from the SOHO LASCO Tim Cooper, Stephen Getliffe, more. coronagraph and recognise that Guus Gilein, Bjorn Granslo, there was an intruder present. The Roberto Haver, Andreas The observing supplement discovery does however follow Kammerer, Heinz Kerner, Atilla accompanying this issue of The Don Machholz's tenets of comet Kosa-Kiss, Martin Lehky, Comet's Tale is thinner than usual discovery: you have to look, the Rolando Ligustri, Andrew Pearce to compensate for the thicker main comet must be bright enough and and Seiichi Yoshida (apologies for section. I have only given you have to find it first. any errors or omissions). ephemerides for comets brighter than 10th magnitude. Ephemerides I have agreed to take on the Comets under observation were: for fainter comets are available on Directorship of the Comet Section 10P/Tempel 2, 29P/Schwassmann- the Section web page and of the Society for Popular Wachmann 1, 37P/Forbes, observers can generate their own Astronomy. I've actually been a 52P/Harrington-Abell, charts using the elements given in member of this society longer than 95P/Chiron, 134P/Kowal- the supplement. In future I will I have been a member of the BAA. Vavrova, 140P/Bowell-Skiff, only give ephemerides for fainter SPA members will be able to 1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp), 1997 BA6 comets if they are particularly in subscribe to The Comet's Tale and (Spacewatch), 1998 M5 need of observation. their observations will be included (LINEAR), 1998 P1 (Williams), in the Section archives. I look 1998 T1 (LINEAR), 1998 U3 Jonathan Shanklin BAA COMET SECTION NEWSLETTER 1999 October 3 Tales from the Past This section gives a few excerpts records that two conspicuous from past RAS Monthly Notices, 100 Years Ago: A paper read at comets had been under BAA Journals and Sky & the June meeting discussed 'Who observation and that Tempel's Telescope. First suggested the Periodical comet (10P) had been observed by Return of Comets' and suggested Mr Denning with a 10" (25 cm) 150 Years Ago: The editor noted that Hooke had the idea that telescope. that, given the discovery comets could return as early as circumstances, he would prefer to 1665, following the appearance of 50 Years Ago: The July Journal call Schweizer's comet (1849 G1) the comet of 1664, which Hooke has a note about an article on that of Schweizer-Bond, however thought could be a return of the comet Families by C H Schwette he followed the authority of comet of 1618 [it wasn't]. At this which appeared in Popular Professor Schumacher. time Halley was only 9 and didn't Astronomy in April. He thought Computations by Hind showed voice his famous utterance until that a group of comets with that the 'first Comet of Brorsen, shortly before his death in 1742. aphelia one and a half times that 1846' (5D/Brorsen) had passed At the same meeting a paper by of Pluto implied a tenth planet. very close to Jupiter in May 1842. Mr John Grigg described a The annual report notes He further suggested that there graphic method of computing a observations by George Alcock might be a link with the comets of search ephemeris for a periodic and Albert Jones, both still active 1532 & 1661, which could be comet. The annual report of the observers. investigated further. Section in the October Journal Professional Tales Many of the scientific magazines are taken from the Cambridge determined by a comparison of the have articles about comets in them Conference Network (CCNet), number of comets reported from and this regular feature is intended which is a scholarly electronic the east and west with those to help you find the ones you've network devoted to catastrophism, reported from both regions. An missed. If you find others let me but which includes much analysis of the reports compiled know and I'll put them in the next information on comets.