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The Comet's Tale 1 Halley’s Comet as depicted in the Tripartitum Psalter Eadwini (The Canterbury Salter cir.1150 acknowledgements to Trinity College Cambridge, (licensed under Creative Commons)1 THE COMET’S TALE Comet Section – British Astronomical Association Journal – Number 36 2017 October britastro.org/comet In memoriam - C/1995 01 1997 March 08 0355-0453 1.2m f.1 f/7 Zeiss Triplet 10”x8” hyperred 4415- Glyn Marsh 2 Table of Contents Contents Author Page 1 Director’s Nick James 3 Welcome Section Director 2 Obituary for Dr. Denis Buczynski 5 Glyn Marsh Secretary 3 Interview with JJ Claudio Pra for Ceieli 7 Gonzalez Dolomiti 4 Team Working – Erik Bryssinck and 12 Discovery of Josch Hambsch Fragment Comet 5 Confessions of a Owen Brazell 16 non-scientific Comet Observer 6 Observing Halley Richard Jones 21 from Tenerife 7 From the Nick James 26 Archives Section Director 8 Comet 38P Denis Buczynski 28 Stephen Oterma Secretary 9 Memories of P. Clay Sherrod 32 Comet Honda Mrkos- Pajusakova 10 Editor’s Whimsy Janice McClean 35 The Comet Stone Editor 11 Contacts 38 Please note that copyright of all images 12 Picture Gallery belongs with the Observer 39 3 1 From the Director – Nick James It has been a while since the last issue of comets were imaged or drawn by the Comet’s Tale but that is entirely my contributors. Images were included from a fault and I hope that it will appear more total of 85 different observers with the regularly in the future. Our newsletter most prolific being: Alfons Diepvens (627), editor, Janice McClean, has done an Peter Carson (478), Erik Bryssinck (439), excellent job on this edition and I hope you Mike Olason (336), Alexander Baranski all enjoy reading it. I would also like to (246), Denis Buczynski (240), Nick James thank the members of the section (105) and Tony Angel (78). The archive is committee and all our observers for their available here: support during the session. http://www.britastro.org/cometobs/ There have been no particularly bright We had a successful section meeting in comets visible this year but a few rose to Northampton on June 17 and a report of near naked-eye visibility. Among these this has appeared in the August Journal. were the returns of periodic comets The meeting was well attended and it 2P/Encke, 41P/Tuttle-Giacobini-Kresak covered a wide range of subjects. It was and 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova, the also our first meeting to make use of Skype unexpectedly bright C/2015 ER61 to allow a speaker (Padma Yanamandra- (PANSTARRS) and the short-lived new discovery C/2017 E4 (Lovejoy). The most Fisher) to present a talk from the west coast of the US. The meeting was recorded observed object was C/2015 V2 (Johnson) which reached perihelion in 2017 June but although we had some problems with recording equipment which has slowed which was well placed throughout much of progress on getting items uploaded. Most the winter and spring and which reached of the talks are now available online here: 8th magnitude in May. In addition to these brighter objects our observers have kept https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL many other comets under observation and zBTybazXT40groFEC3zg4uVLFFGdApQL outbursts have been detected in a number of objects including the perennially active We plan to hold the next meeting in the 29P/Schwassmann–Wachmann. Richard Spring of 2019. More details will be Miles continues to lead our 29P monitoring distributed as soon as we have them. I project and, as the comet comes north, he know that it is currently a long way off but is gearing up for an increase in if you have any ideas regarding topics for observations. inclusion please let me know. Denis Buczynski continues to manage our I have now taken over the section hard- Section’s online image archive. At the last copy archive from Jonathan Shanklin. Most count, this archive now stands at a total of of this was transferred in a Northampton 17,713 images. Of these 3,146 images were car park after the section meeting and it added in the last year and a total of 189 filled most of the space in my Mondeo! We 4 have started to index and scan the material year. I'd like to thank the section and some of this has already been committee who have helped me with this uploaded to the Comet Section website. task and I hope that the new version will be The archive contains many old comet of use to both novice and advanced photos and drawings which will gradually observers. Our intention is to keep this up be made available online over the coming to date with fairly regular updates. You can year. find the Guide here: Between 1973 February and 1987 https://britastro.org/node/6817 February, the Comet Section produced 26 Please let me know if you spot any errors issues of a Newsletter called Istimirant or feel that we should include information Stella. These were edited by Mike Hendrie, on other topics. Andy Stephens and Stan Milbourn. All of these issues are now available here: The Section has continued to develop the comphot comet photometry software and https://britastro.org/node/10769 testing continues with a number of It is an interesting read and shows how observers. The latest version adds the different things were 40 years ago. Look ability to produce ICQ formatted output out for John Bortle's guide to comet records which should simplify the hunting and descriptions of Comet West submission of data to COBS. You can from 1975 along with many other download the latest version from: interesting notes and observations. There https://britastro.org/node/11124 are quite a few familiar names in these issues. If you are a new user of comphot please contact me before submitting any data to Comet observations (both visual and COBS. electronic) continue to be submitted via the online Comet Observations database Roger Dymock, our outreach and (COBS), although many observations are mentoring coordinator has asked to step sent directly to the visual observations co- down from that role since he wants to ordinator, Jonathan Shanklin. Jonathan has concentrate on exoplanet work. I would continued to analyse quantitative data like to thank Roger for the support he has submitted by visual and now, increasingly, given me over the past few years. He has CCD observers. He reformats the been one of the few people from the observations into the format that Guy Section who has been submitting total Hurst uses for publication in The comet magnitudes estimated using images Astronomer. Jonathan also maintains his from remote telescopes. This is a complex highly informative comet observations and and difficult subject and Roger is one of the analysis website and has again assisted me few people who have taken this on, helping by providing the comet material for the others with his knowledge. 2018 Handbook and the comet prospects. Roger also maintained the Project Alcock A completely revised version of the Comet website which contained notes and guides Observing Guide was released earlier this 5 on many different aspects of practical Mobberley, Glyn and myself arranged to comet observing and imaging. This site is observe C/1996 B2 (Hyakutake) from the no longer active but I hope, with Roger's clear skies of Mt. Teide, Tenerife and he agreement, to move some of the articles to helped me in many areas since then. I will the main comet section website over the really miss him as a friend and as an next few months. observer, as I am sure do all that knew him. I'm sure that we all wish Roger well with It is also sad to report that our only living his exoplanet work and hope that comets British visual comet discoverer, Roy will still be on his target list every now and Panther, died in October 2016. Roy was again. If anyone would like to take up the the discoverer of comet C/1980 Y2 outreach and mentoring role please contact (1980u). The discovery was made visually me directly. using a 0.20m, f/4 Newtonian at 1850 UT on Christmas day 1980 when the comet As you will have seen from the front cover, was a 9th magnitude object near M56. The my great friend and comet observer Glyn discovery was confirmed that evening by Marsh died suddenly in August. I heard the Mike Hendrie and George Alcock and it was news from Denis Buczynski while I was in Roy's first success after 601 hours of the US for the eclipse and found it very searching. difficult to believe. Glyn was a great personal friend and a very accomplished Let us hope that soon we have a new comet observer. I remember my visits to Preston in the sky that we can all observe and in and, more recently, the Isle of Man where doing so pay our respects to these two Glyn and Christine always made me feel great observers. very welcome. Many will also remember Glyn's demonstration of how to make a comet given at the section meeting in 2015. He was so dedicated to the task that he even bought a small camping fridge to keep the nucleus cold on its journey from the Isle of Man. In 1996 Glyn was instrumental in the success of a trip that Martin Nick James – Section Director 2 Obituary for Dr. Glyn Marsh – Denis Buczynski On August 18 2017, our friend and home for the past few years.
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