The Great Christmas Comet of 2011, 2011 W3 (Lovejoy) |
The Great Christmas Comet of 2011, 2011 W3 (Lovejoy) |
Guest_Sunspot_* |
Dec 2 2011, 09:59 PM
Post
#1
|
Guests |
http://sungrazer.nrl.navy.mil/index.php?p=.../birthday_comet
Possible very bright sungrazing comet coming mid December - Comet Lovejoy C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy) Information in the link above. |
|
|
Dec 22 2011, 10:48 PM
Post
#2
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 723 Joined: 13-June 04 Member No.: 82 |
From comet-ml post #19028 by Dave Herald:
QUOTE A bit more on the brightness...
The comet’s tail for the first 12+ degrees is definitely considerably brighter in surface brightness than the adjacent Milky Way band at similar altitudes. My comparison with the Magellanic clouds was of the tail at around 10 deg altitude, with the Magellanic clouds at 40 to 50 deg altitudes, with significant atmospheric absorption at low altitudes. Re tail length. With the nucleus at 17h 00.6m –37d 10’ (but no condensation visible at that location), the dust tail extended to around 15h 44m, –43.0d, and the ion tail extended to about 15h 58m, –44.3d – giving tail lengths of around 16 deg. Rob refers to P/ Halley 1986. IMHO, Lovejoy is MUCH more spectacular and visible than Halley was at its best. However it is considerably less spectacular than McNaught was at its best. Overall – it is in the category of ‘spectacular’ comets. Commiserations to those in the northern hemisphere, who won’t be able to see this marvellous Xmas comet. Dave Herald Murrumbateman, Australia From: Robert McNaught Sent: Friday, December 23, 2011 5:56 AM To: Comets-ml Subject: Re: [comets-ml] Comet Lovejoy Spotted From Space Station Confirming Dave Herald's comment on the brightness of the tail, I made it brighter than the surface brightness of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) on Dec 21.7 UT, but comparable to the LMC. A more subjective comparison (again) would make it much more impressive than P/Halley in 1986 which I saw pretty much every night for over a month after perihelion. Cheers, Rob |
|
|
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 27th September 2024 - 07:58 AM |
RULES AND GUIDELINES Please read the Forum Rules and Guidelines before posting. IMAGE COPYRIGHT |
OPINIONS AND MODERATION Opinions expressed on UnmannedSpaceflight.com are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of UnmannedSpaceflight.com or The Planetary Society. The all-volunteer UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderation team is wholly independent of The Planetary Society. The Planetary Society has no influence over decisions made by the UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderators. |
SUPPORT THE FORUM Unmannedspaceflight.com is funded by the Planetary Society. Please consider supporting our work and many other projects by donating to the Society or becoming a member. |