The comets are coming
Earth passing through tail of Comet ISON Jan 14-15, 2014
Meteor scatter, anyone?
It’s not very often that radio propagation and photographic opportunity are enhanced by a single phenomena phenomenon but that may very well be the case in 10 months.
No doubt you’ve heard of the comet due to pass within 800,000 miles of Earth next December.
Comet ISON is expected to be visible in broad daylight with an estimated brightness range anywhere from equal to the full moon to 15 times as bright.
If the forecasts prove correct, it will become naked eye visible in November 2013. Break out the Nikon/Canon.
Then, on January 14-15, Earth will pass through the tail of the comet resulting in “the meteor shower of the century” according to one source. Get your JT65 software ready.
Though not expected to produce a meteor shower, photographic practice for Comet ISON may very well be available this March when Comet C/2011 L4 becomes visible to the naked eye. If you miss it, no worries – it’ll be back in 110,000 years.
Comets are notorious for making fools of astronomer’s by failing to meet their predictions…but when they perform as promised, they truly are spectacular. Remember Hale-Bopp and Hyakatake of the 1990′s?
Those wanting to bone up on meteor scatter ops may want to start here.
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Themocracy
Hey John,
Hope this pans out and is not another Kohoutek. When it comes to these astronomical predictions about comets, I’ve come to the point that “I’ll believe it when I see it”.
73 de Larry W2LJ
Same here, Larry. But Hale-Bopp showed us what a real comet can be when the predictions hold true. I lived in your neck of the woods then and have a photo somewhere of H-B that I took from a park in Montclair.
But regardless of whether Comet ISON makes a worthy visual appearance or not, we will be passing through its tail on the dates mentioned. That part, as they said in the movie Titanic, is “a mathematical certainty”.
I remember Hyakatake very well. It was very well visible during nighttime. But not that bright that you could see it at daylight. 73, Bas
Too bad we have to wait 10 months
*phenomenon