Kreutz Sungrazers
C/1965 Ikeya-Seki
--- In [email protected], David Nicholls <dcn@...> wrote:
>
> My memory of Ikeya-Seki in 1965 was that it wasn't seen for a few days after
perihelion (John Bortle may know the details better than I do). I saw it for the
first time (after perihelion) I think 5 days after. The tail was breathtaking and
the nucleus brilliant and star-like. If we don't see Comet Lovejoy for a few
days, it may have had time to develop a more respectable tail again. So far the
images suggest it will be bright enough to see when it has put a bit of space
between itself and the Sun.
>
> DN
Actually, Comet Ikeya-Seki remained under observation by at least
a few observers straight through from perihelion passage until the object's
reappearance in the morning sky.
Many observers saw it on the day after perihelion (October 22nd), ranking it as
between -2.5 and -4. On the 23rd, my old friend Jack Bennett caught it in the dawn
at 0 magnitude, with Gordon Solberg reporting the same brightness on the morning of
the 24th. By the 25th the comet's brightness was down to 1st magnitude, but a 9
degree tail was already apparent. Thereafter, it was observed almost universally.
J.Bortle
------------------------------------
From: "P. Clay Sherrod" <[email protected]>
Date: Fri, December 16, 2011 4:32 pm
To: [email protected]
The tail of Ikeya-Seki was clearly visible to the naked eye in daylight throughout
its passage by the sun; I saw it on several occasions near noon by shielding the
light of the sun behind light poles or buildings.
It has been a long time, but as I remember, the tail's length was easily visible in
daylight throughout most of the remarkable arc that it presented. I am sure that if
this had been a "dark sky comet" the length of the tail would have been even more
dramatic.
Clay
_____
Dr. P. Clay Sherrod
Arkansas Sky Observatories
MPC H45 - Petit Jean Mountain South
MPC H41 - Petit Jean Mountain
MPC H43 - Conway West
http://www.arksky.org/
Comet Observations List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CometObs/
Comet Images List: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Comet-Images/
C/2011 W3 Lovejoy
Subject: [comets-ml] Comet 2011 W3
From: [email protected]
Date: Fri, December 16, 2011 11:04 am
To: [email protected]
I trust that most here appreciate that we are witnessing one of the most
extraordinary events in cometary history. The manner in which Comet Lovejoy is
evolving is, to my knowledge, totally unique in the comet record.
Its brilliant, star-like, appearance this morning, when only at an extremely small
heliocentric distance harkens back once again to the reports of "brilliant stars"
being occasionally reported close to the Sun down through history.
Likewise, the reappearance of the tail possibly may suggest that within two or three
days a singular shaft of pale light may emerge from out of the twilight for
observers in the Southern Hemisphere, resembling the ghostly tails displayed by the
Great Southern Comets of 1880 and 1887.
As for me, I remain under a thinning deck of cirrus, with little hope of it clearing
off in time for me to attempt a daylight sighting of this extraordinary comet.
J.Bortle
From: [email protected]
Date: Fri, December 16, 2011 11:04 am
To: [email protected]
I trust that most here appreciate that we are witnessing one of the most
extraordinary events in cometary history. The manner in which Comet Lovejoy is
evolving is, to my knowledge, totally unique in the comet record.
Its brilliant, star-like, appearance this morning, when only at an extremely small
heliocentric distance harkens back once again to the reports of "brilliant stars"
being occasionally reported close to the Sun down through history.
Likewise, the reappearance of the tail possibly may suggest that within two or three
days a singular shaft of pale light may emerge from out of the twilight for
observers in the Southern Hemisphere, resembling the ghostly tails displayed by the
Great Southern Comets of 1880 and 1887.
As for me, I remain under a thinning deck of cirrus, with little hope of it clearing
off in time for me to attempt a daylight sighting of this extraordinary comet.
J.Bortle