Comet PANSTARRS Rises to the Occasion Mid-March

[WillEase666 Profile]

Comets visible to the naked eye are a rare delicacy in the celestial smorgasbord of objects in the nighttime sky. Scientists estimate that the opportunity to see one of these icy dirtballs advertising their cosmic presence so brilliantly they can be seen without the aid of a telescope or binoculars happens only once every five to 10 years. That said, there may be two naked-eye comets available for your viewing pleasure this year.

"You might have heard of a comet ISON, which may become a spectacular naked-eye comet later this fall," said Amy Mainzer, the principal investigator of NASA's NEOWISE mission at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and self-described cosmic icy dirtball fan. "But if you have the right conditions you don't have to wait for ISON. Within a few days, comet PANSTARRS will be making its appearance in the skies of the Northern Hemisphere just after twilight."

Discovered in June 2011, comet 2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) bears the name of the telescopic survey that discovered it -- the less than mellifluous sounding "Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System" which sits atop the Haleakala volcano in Hawaii.

Since its discovery a year-and-a-half ago, observing comet PANSTARRS has been the exclusive dominion of comet aficionados in the Southern Hemisphere, but that is about to change. As the comet continues its well-understood and safe passage through the inner-solar system, its celestial splendor will be lost to those in the Southern Hemisphere, but found by those up north.

"There is a catch to viewing comet PANSTARRS," said Mainzer. "This one is not that bright and is going to be low on the western horizon, so you'll need a relatively unobstructed view to the southwest at twilight and, of course, some good comet-watching weather."

Well, there is one more issue -- the time of day, or night, to view it.

"Look too early and the sky will be too bright," said Rachel [removed], a NASA Postdoctoral Fellow at JPL. "Look too late, the comet will be too low and obstructed by the horizon. This comet has a relatively small window."

By March 8, comet PANSTARRS may be viewable for those with a totally unobstructed view of the western horizon for about 15 minutes after twilight. On March 10, it will make its closest approach to the sun about 28 million miles (45 million kilometers) away. As it continues its nightly trek across the sky, the comet may get lost in the sun's glare but should return and be visible to the naked eye by March 12. As time marches on in the month of March, the comet will begin to fade away slowly, becoming difficult to view (even with binoculars or small telescopes) by month's end. The comet will appear as a bright point of light with its diffuse tail pointing nearly straight up from the horizon like an exclamation point.

What, if any, attraction does seeing a relatively dim naked-eye comet with the naked eye hold for someone who works with them every day, with file after file of high-resolution imagery spilling out on her computer workstation?

"You bet I'm going to go look at it!" said Mainzer. "Comet PANSTARRS may be a little bit of a challenge to find without a pair of binoculars, but there is something intimately satisfying to see it with your own two eyes. If you have a good viewing spot and good weather, it will be like the Sword of Gryffindor, it should present itself to anyone who is worthy."

NASA detects, tracks and characterizes asteroids and comets passing relatively close to Earth using both ground- and space-based telescopes. The Near-Earth Object Observations Program, commonly called "Spaceguard," discovers these objects, characterizes a subset of them, and predicts their paths to determine if any could be potentially hazardous to our planet.

JPL manages the Near-Earth Object Program Office for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington, DC. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

More information about asteroids and near-Earth objects is at: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch , and on Twitter: @asteroidwatch .

[Perry LaGuardia Profile]

Astronomers should beware of the danger to their eyes if they try to catch a glimpse of a comet which won't be seen on earth again until the year 112,000.

The C/2011 L4, also known as Comet Pan-Starrs, is making a rare visit to the inner solar system in the middle of this week, and will fly past the sun.

But experts have warned that amateur stargazers not to try and see it too soon.

Rev Kate Kay, chief astronomer at the Norman Lockyer Observatory in Sidmouth, Devon, said: "It's going around the sun, and there is always a danger that if you try to look at it when it is near the sun, you are going to do some damage to your eyes.

"We're hoping to get our first glimpses and photographs of it on Tuesday and Wednesday when it's away from the sun, and near the new moon. If people look then for the moon, just to the right of it, they may see a little white smudge, hopefully with a nice tail.

"With any luck this bad weather may have improved by then, allowing young people with stronger eyes to see it, or older people with binoculars."

The comet takes its name from the Hawaiian telescope which astronomers used to spot it in June 2011.

Members of the Flamsteed Astronomy Society, part of the Royal Observatory, planned to look for the comet from Blackheath in south east London on Friday, or Saturday if the weather is bad on Friday.

Joint vice chairman Grey Lipley said: "If you are going to try to find the comet while it is near the sun, you should wait until the sun is fully set. But it is going to be difficult to see it given the poor weather at the moment."

[WillEase666 Profile]

First viewing tonight...just a reminder.

[One-23 Profile]

Bins and scope out tonight Will

Weather forecast look clear

[One-23 Profile]

Damn clouds

Well maybe tomorrow night

You might find that this free app helps take the guess work out of locating it if we get any clear skies



https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... GFycnMiXQ..

[E6722maj Profile]

i can't believe it, we've had a clear sky all day and it's promptly clouded over as soon as the evening arrives

typical

.

[WillEase666 Profile]

Published on Mar 13, 2013

Chris Go (http://astro.christone.net) captured the bright comet setting over the mountains of Cebu City, Phillippines on March 11, 2013.

Upload to Disclose.tv

[Perry LaGuardia Profile]

Published on Mar 13, 2013

Chris Go (http://astro.christone.net) captured the bright comet setting over the mountains of Cebu City, Phillippines on March 11, 2013.

Upload to Disclose.tv

Wow

Lucky Bastard!

[-Marduk- Profile]

Published on Mar 13, 2013

Chris Go (http://astro.christone.net) captured the bright comet setting over the mountains of Cebu City, Phillippines on March 11, 2013.

Upload to Disclose.tv

Dont want no bangs on the head from those mothers.

[WillEase666 Profile]

Credit and copyright: Nic Leister