SorcererMickey
January 1st, 2005, 20:45
For New Year, a Fairly New Comet
By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, January 1, 2005; Page B08
Out with the old and in with a comet.
The new year welcomes Comet Machholz, which was discovered in August by astronomer Don Machholz in California. Astronomers predict that it might reach fourth magnitude and will be bright enough to see here with binoculars.
"It's not the comet of the century, but certainly the comet of the month," said Geoff Chester, an astronomer with the U.S. Naval Observatory here.
"It's easy to see in binoculars, and with a very dark sky, you could see it with the naked eye."
Comet Machholz makes its closest sweep to Earth early this month. On Jan. 1 and 2, the dirty, cosmic snowball can be seen about 20 degrees to the right of the star Aldebaran ( Taurus constellation), high in the southeast early in the evening. From Jan. 5 through 8, it's about 10 degrees to the right of the Pleiades cluster (Messier number 45), high in the southeast early in the evening, according to Chester.
Between Jan. 6 and 12, the comet is expected to be at its brightest for Earth-bound sky gazers. The comet reaches perihelion, its closest approach to the sun, Jan. 24.
To discover the comet, Machholz used a six-inch reflector telescope that he bought in 1968.
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40101-2004Dec31.html
By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, January 1, 2005; Page B08
Out with the old and in with a comet.
The new year welcomes Comet Machholz, which was discovered in August by astronomer Don Machholz in California. Astronomers predict that it might reach fourth magnitude and will be bright enough to see here with binoculars.
"It's not the comet of the century, but certainly the comet of the month," said Geoff Chester, an astronomer with the U.S. Naval Observatory here.
"It's easy to see in binoculars, and with a very dark sky, you could see it with the naked eye."
Comet Machholz makes its closest sweep to Earth early this month. On Jan. 1 and 2, the dirty, cosmic snowball can be seen about 20 degrees to the right of the star Aldebaran ( Taurus constellation), high in the southeast early in the evening. From Jan. 5 through 8, it's about 10 degrees to the right of the Pleiades cluster (Messier number 45), high in the southeast early in the evening, according to Chester.
Between Jan. 6 and 12, the comet is expected to be at its brightest for Earth-bound sky gazers. The comet reaches perihelion, its closest approach to the sun, Jan. 24.
To discover the comet, Machholz used a six-inch reflector telescope that he bought in 1968.
Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40101-2004Dec31.html