Comet Ikeya-Zhang Continues To Brighten

“COMET IKEYA-ZHANG CONTINUES TO BRIGHTEN

Comet Ikeya-Zhang is now a naked-eye object visible low in the west as twilight fades for Northern Hemisphere observers. More information about the comet, including a graphic illustrating the comet's location after sunset and a chart showing the path of Comet Ikeya-Zhang, is available on
the Sky & Telescope website.

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Check that Comet / Crescent Moon combo on the 15th & 16th...”

“thanks for the heads up..........i love these celestial events..........”

“After sunset on the 15th & 16th it ought to be really nice... the comet, a crescent Moon and Venus together above the western horizon.

Now if only the clouds will cooperate!”

“thanks for this. Now we can share this comet from east to west TTers.Hey OM wanna go for a swim?”

“Yeah! JVZ!...what a fabulous idea, night swim while watching a comet sail near the moon and venus.......i would be so far gone from the ecstasy, wouldn't even notice getting attacked by a shark or an alligator depending on where the swimming was happening.

u know i've got a bad love for swimmin'~~~~~~~~~~~~`
anytime...anywhere....

.”

“I could see it from my pool if the clouds ever go away. The weatherman says they'll be around all week and maybe the wknd. I'll have Kent climb up in his tree next door with a flashlight and do a virtual thing. The pools real cold though!!!Maybe the comet will still be around this summer whadya think?”

“hmmmm... it's supposed to peak late this month. I think it might have flown the coop by June.”

“Space Weather News for March 17, 2002
http://www.spaceweather.com

AURORA WARNING: An explosion on the Sun hurled a coronal mass ejection toward Earth late on Friday, March 15th. The CME could sweep past Earth as early as Sunday night and trigger auroras. High-latitude sky watchers --
e.g., those in northern Europe, Canada, and the northern tier of US states -- should remain alert for Northern Lights after sunset on Sunday and perhaps again on Monday. It's possible that auroras might extend to lower latitudes as well; the crescent Moon will not overwhelm faint auroras. No
matter where you live, the best times to watch will be during the hours around local midnight. Stay tuned to SpaceWeather.com for updates.

PHOTOGENIC COMET: In recent weeks star gazers have enjoyed watching Comet Ikeya-Zhang, whose faint blue color and turbulent tail have made it one of the most photogenic comets in years. On March 18th the comet's orbit will bring it only 0.5 AU from the Sun -- its closest approach to our star in nearly four centuries. Solar heating could further brighten the comet,
which glows now like a 4th magnitude star, and cause more dusty debris to evaporate from its icy nucleus. March 18th will be a good day to look as the comet lines up in the western sky with 3 planets and a crescent Moon.

Visit SpaceWeather.com for details....”

“COMET IKEYA-ZHANG AT ITS BRIGHTEST?

As Comet Ikeya-Zhang (C/2002 C1) begins the outbound leg of its journey around the Sun, questions remain as to how bright it will ultimately become or whether it has already peaked. The coming week will be a crucial one in determining its brightness during the remainder of March and the
first half of April....

If it follows the path of a power-law formula, Comet Ikeya-Zhang will rise only a couple of tenths more in magnitude to attain a brightness plateau of about 3.5 that will last almost through the end of the month. However, if it exhibits an asymmetric light curve then the comet will go right on
brightening and by next Friday could be brighter than magnitude 3.0 with no peak in sight....

Link to article”

“And Just In Case You Missed It...

CLOSE-CALL ASTEROID CAUSES MORE WORRIES

Billed as the "blind-spot" asteroid, a building-size space rock passed the Earth unnoticed two weeks ago. An automated sky survey detected minor planet 2002 EM7 on March 12th. Subsequent orbital calculations determined
that the asteroid had come closest to the Earth four days earlier at a
distance of about 464,000 kilometers (288,000 miles), slightly more than the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Prior to the flyby, 2002 EM7 was
too close to the Sun, hence the "blind-spot" moniker....

Despite the media attention in the wake of 2002 EM7's passage, such
"close" flybys are not uncommon. According to Jim Scotti (University of Arizona), "Simply put, objects the size of the Tunguska impactor pass within the distance that 2002 EM7 did about 25 times every year." Rocks
the size of 2002 EM7 come by nearly 100 times a year....

ink to article”

“Saturday evening at Walker Lake. It was obvious because it was the only thing shining in the sky as the sun went down. It was in the west at about 20 degrees from the horizon. Cool stuff.”

“Well, the clouds cleared out enough to finally see the blasted thing --- and I need a bigger pair of binoculars, <G>.”

“I saw it last Thursday. That baby stuck out "like a sore thumb" in the sky...and it wasn't even dusk yet. Looked at it through my binoculars and you could see this elongated shining star with this looooong white trail/tail...simply awesome.

Saw my brother this weekend and I inquired about his telescope. Turns out it was stolen (gotten rid of) in this storage space he and his wife had at their place of work.”

“More orbital data and Nifty Images.”