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
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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. |
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Jan 18 2012, 04:38 PM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 723 Joined: 13-June 04 Member No.: 82 |
A compilation of recent posts about 2011 W3 Lovejoy:
From comets-ml post #19273 by Con Stoitsis: QUOTE From a Southern hemisphere perspective, I feel the comet should be classified as a "Great". At it's peak around Christmas time, the comet sported a tail over 30 degrees in length, and was easierly visibly in the morning sky I will never forget how it looked over the SE horizon. As mentioned, the comet has now faded greatly, and is well below naked eye visibility. I could not detect it in my 70mm binoculars from an relatively dark sky a couple of days ago, but I did read a report yesterday, where it was detected in small binoculars from a loction with an exceptionally dark sky. From comets-ml post #19275 by Paul Floyd: QUOTE I would agree with your comments about Comet 2011 W3 being classed as a 'great' comet. The weather didn't treat me kindly from my location in Canberra, Australia but I did manage to see it one morning and the tail was easily visible and was just over 20 degrees long. I can't tell you the date I saw it offhand. It was an unusually comet to in that it is the only bright comet I have seen that didn't have an apparent head. To the unaided eye, it just faded away towards where the head should have been. From comets-ml post #19276 by David Nicholls: QUOTE My two cents worth. If you take a non-astronomer and tell them there's a comet in the sky, and they can see it without assistance, it qualifies (IMO) as a "Great Comet". Hale Bopp, when it finally came far enough south to be seen in the evening twilight in Canberra, failed that test with my neighbour (though it was quite good). But it was obviously a Great Comet. OTOH, my brother saw C/2011 W3 Lovejoy without any prompting. It's very annoying when you know there's a bright comet in the wrong hemisphere :-( From comets-ml post #19277 by Rob Kaufman: QUOTE My two bob's worth on the 'greatness' (I thought it was a done deal?) - anyone who saw this gigantic comet sprawling along the Milky Way around Christmas time would have no doubts. The really good recent comets such as 17P pale into insignificance beside this spectacle. That Lovejoy could well produce science on an unparalleled scale because of our unprecedented ability to observe it through perihelion passage is just icing on the comet cake! From comets-ml post #19278 by Chris W.: QUOTE Was Lovejoy a "Great Comet" YES! Definitely! I never got to see Hale-Bopp under dark skies, but photographs i have seen certainly leave no doubt about it. Even when P1 McNaught rolled around our Southern Skies in January 2007, i reckon more was written in magazines about 17P/Holmes later that year (which was also a grand sight!) than P1 at the start of 2007!
The most exciting part of W3 Lovejoy for me was the first time i saw it, like a headlight beam over the horizon, Michael Mattiazzo was on the receiving end of a very excited phone call from me that morning! After flicking through David Seargents book "The Greatest Comets In History" there was a drawing or painting or something of the Great Comet of 1880, which reminded me of this comet, the way it's angled and the "beam" look it had about it, it's like you're taking a trip back in time, incredible! I eagerly await further findings from W3 in future, it was a lesson learned! |
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