Comet of the century ?
POSTED BY: AURaptor
UPDATED: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 04:32
VIEWED: 1451
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Hope so.
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If the Sun doesn't get it, that'd be a nice Christmas present for 2013.
"When your heart breaks, you choose what to fill the cracks with. Love or hate. But hate won't ever heal. Only love can do that."
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There could be a vampire ship hiding inside. Mathilda May hasn't been seen in a long time.
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I remember the fuss over Halley's, back when it came 'round. I recall thinking I'd be around for it on the next trip, but we'll see about that.
Hale-Bopp was the clearest, most 'classic' comet I recall. Hyakutake was hardly visible at all, at least where I saw it. I recall its tail being rather dispersed.
"False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil." - Socrates
" I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. "
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Kohoutek was the most over-hyped one I remember. I've read that the biggest fear with this one is that the initial thermal pulse from the sun may cause it to shatter.
Personally, I'm hoping to live long enough to see Betelgeuse go supernova. That would be a sight!
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...then there was Kohoutek. What a bust. Forgot about that one.
Shoemaker - Levy 9 was very significant, though not seen by the naked eye of course.
And yeah, Betelgeuse or VY Canis Majoris, which ever goes first.
But speaking of Betelgeuse, here's a timely article I just saw...
Quote:
The red supergiant star Betelgeuse in the famed constellation Orion is on a collision course with a strange wall of interstellar dust, with the clock ticking down to a cataclysmic cosmic smashup in 5,000 years, scientists say.
A new image of Betelgeuse by the European Space Agency's infrared Herschel space observatory, shows that the star will crash headlong into a trail of space dust while speeding through its part of the cosmos at a blistering 18.6 miles (30 kilometers) per second. That's about 66,960 mph (107,761 kph).
Betelgeuse is a giant star that makes up the left shoulder of the Orion constellation and can easily be seen from Earth with the unaided eye by observers in the Northern Hemisphere. The star appears as a reddish-orange light above and to the left of Orion's belt.
Too bad none of us will be around for THAT collision, if it hasn't exploded before then.
"False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil." - Socrates
" I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. "
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It is my goal to see Halleys someday. It came over when I was a baby, so I'll be about 76 or 77 when it comes around again, talk about inconvenient. There's a cute song called When Halley Came to Jackson in 1910. A bit over sentimental, but still worth noting in a thread about commets.
Also worth noting is that Mark Twain was born when it came over, and he died when it came over again. I think that's really neat, really something, he has a link to it.
"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya
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Quote:
Originally posted by RionaEire:
Also worth noting is that Mark Twain was born when it came over, and he died when it came over again. I think that's really neat, really something, he has a link to it.
"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya
Now there's a freaky fact! I bet the Heaven's Gate folks took that info to heart.
"False words are not only evil in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil." - Socrates
" I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend. "
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The appearance of Halley's Comet in February 1986 was the least favorable sighting in modern times. The comet and the Earth were on opposite sides of the Sun. I had a small telescope then, and my friend and I drove down to the old unlit Seven Mile Bridge in Marathon, Florida to get a great view in the darkness of the area. But I was able to see it only for a short time because of the cloud cover. It was quite disappointing. That was it for me unless I live to be 109.
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