Comments on: Disintegrating comet keeps on doing its thing

By: P. Edward Murray

P. Edward Murray — Wed, 10 May 2006 02:32:30 +0000

It’s still cloudy here in Pennsy. Visibility of this comet depends on how much light pollution there is too!

You should be able to see it with 15 x 70′s in a dark sky.

A 10 inch Dob can also see it but it’s still dim in a light polluted sky.

By: Ray Gray

Ray Gray — Wed, 10 May 2006 01:06:49 +0000

That Comet looks like a big-FAT-cigar & the Nebula looks like a giant smoke ring…

By: Tom K

Tom K — Tue, 09 May 2006 23:17:16 +0000

Dang, my html didn’t work. Here’s the APOD picture:
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050723.html

By: Tom K

Tom K — Tue, 09 May 2006 23:15:30 +0000

Never mind, I just answered my own question by doing a search on APOD. This picture shows the halo clearly, along with a whole slew of background galaxies (the orientation is rotated about 90 degrees). Cool.

By: The Bad Astronomer

The Bad Astronomer — Tue, 09 May 2006 23:13:36 +0000

Yeah, it has a giant halo around it. Many planetary nebulae do. I studied on (NGC 6826) for my Masters degree.

By: Tom K

Tom K — Tue, 09 May 2006 23:07:54 +0000

Sorry, I meant to say, “…that picture of the comet and the Ring Nebula that Supernova posted at the top…”

So, is there a halo?

By: Tom K

Tom K — Tue, 09 May 2006 23:06:23 +0000

Hey, that picture of the comet and the Ring Nebula – it looks like there’s a faint halo around the ring that I’ve never seen before. Is that really there or is it just an artifact?

By: Thad Hatchett

Thad Hatchett — Tue, 09 May 2006 18:13:46 +0000

A great animation of the event can be found at…
http://astronomy.qteaser.com/images/m57cometanimations.gif

By: ioresult

ioresult — Tue, 09 May 2006 15:32:20 +0000

And to be even more nitpicking, it’s actually 73P/ and not P/73…

By: ioresult

ioresult — Tue, 09 May 2006 15:30:27 +0000

Dear BA, you said “Comet P/72 Schwassmann-Wachmann just keeps getting cooler.” Don’t you mean “P/73″? Or is P/72 another chunk of the same comet?

By: Blake Stacey

Blake Stacey — Tue, 09 May 2006 15:08:14 +0000

That's a very cool picture. I mean, very cool. For those of us trapped below a perpetual haze --- the great M0 Nebula --- lit by streetlamps and office buildings like a stellar nursery illuminated by infant suns, this is as close as we get.

By: Eighthman

Eighthman — Tue, 09 May 2006 14:09:04 +0000

And, of course, it will be cloudy/rainy in New England for the next 5 days. I read about the comet going by the Ring Nebula back in March when I got the May Sky & Telescope. It was cloudy for that too.

By: Kaptain K

Kaptain K — Tue, 09 May 2006 13:29:32 +0000

“…the line you see connecting the chunks of the comet may just be dust that has spread out from the comet in a thin disk around it, and we are seeing it almost edge-on.”

I think you’re right – notice the “anti-tail” that is a continuation of the line in the sunward direction.

By: JerryL

JerryL — Tue, 09 May 2006 13:28:23 +0000

DennyMo,

It should be visible in a pair of department store binoculars if you know where to look. You may not see the tail but the commet will be easy to spot.

jerry

By: DennyMo

DennyMo — Tue, 09 May 2006 13:22:34 +0000

BA, how powerful a scope would a backyard astronomer need to see this?

By: Supernova

Supernova — Tue, 09 May 2006 07:34:58 +0000

This image posted on SpaceWeather.com is truly awesome: Comet + Ring. Check out the nifty little background galaxy!