Ron Baalke kindly forwards: >Although it is now moving away from the Earth, the comet >is still approaching the Sun, so its overall brightness in the >coming days and weeks will appear to change very little, if at all. >The comet is expected to hover at around tenth-magnitude, >meaning that it will glow about 40 times dimmer than a >star that is at the threshold of visibility >with the unaided eye.
10th magnitude and a comet to boot is normally a difficult casual object where you get a stiff neck and crossed eyes without a decent amateur scope, should you not be luck to have one in your possession. So, if NASA's fireworks prove not to be the mesmerizing conflagration we all hope (except that astrologer who is suing to save the comet), for casual earth watchers, there is still a heavenly party week for most on the list not to miss! Brilliant and infrequently seen Mercury and vividly resplendent Venus will get so intimate they will practically become one (and no Star charts needs No not even binoculars needed - but they would be fun... if you know where the Sun sets...that's where the action picks up right at dark - and don't dawdle too much): The other memorialized configuration will occur simultaneousy with a chance to see Mercury in the skirt-tails of Venus - incredibly close as Saturn peeps away for the season. Mercury and Venus will be sooooooo close (how close??? a third of a full Moon length away, and even less in Europe), and will be quite bright (Mercury 0th magnitude - same as a bright Mars and 2.5X more than Saturn). Not to mention Venus near her brightest ever at -4th magnitude. That will happen on June 27 in the little constellation of the birthday folks, Cancer. I wonder what is in store for the Cancer horoscope this time around. By the 3rd/4th of July Venus and Mercury will still be very close and a sight to see following the Sun, since Mercury is basically coming into view from the Sun's brilliance on one of these rare ocassions with sufficient viewing angle from earth. And 4 fists (40 degrees) away along the ecliptic (only 2 constellations away) NASA will of course be brazenly auditioning live on stage with these ancient Planetary Gods of the celestial entertainment network. Saturn (a slim 2 or 3 degrees away) will make a great but weak addition to them for a ménage à trois, at the first magnitude throught the Venus-Mercury encounter. And from July 5-7, when you come back for another view, a nascent crescent Moon will appear smack dab in the center of Cancer. You know- one of those beautiful Ramadan desert type Moons...July 5-6 will be a day woth finding some clear, dark skies!! And it won't be anyones funeral. Happy Birthday Johnstown (Jul 6) and NASA, in the immortal words of General Prescott, from the British-American War of Independence, "Don't fire until you see the whites of her eyes!" What a line-up! Saludos, Doug PS Jupiter will still be hanging in Virgo and you can use him to trace the Solar planetary ecliptic. After you see Venus, Mercury and Saturn and maybe the Moon, just paint an imaginary line from them until you reach Jupiter three fists away. The next bright star if you extend the line after Jupiter is Spica, a pretty hue of white-blue, practically along the ecliptic, too (Don't confuse with the red brighter star Arcturus way off ecliptic). Half a fist more is NASA territory The comet will cross the ecliptic on July 5-6, about 4 degrees from Spica (inside most binoculars field of view). In other words, as long as you don't stand upside down in New Zealand or something like that, in the early evening until about 2:00 AM, if you put Spica in your binoculars at the lower right (4:30 position), wide field binoculars will place the comet in the middle, and narrow field binoculars will place it diagonally at the upper left (10:30 position). In New Zealand, just put it at the lower left and look for the comet diagonally at the upper right). And for the trivia, Spica Virginis translates to the Virgin's Ear of Corn...or maybe sheaf of wheat...or spike (of grain)... ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list Meteorite-list@meteoritecentral.com http://six.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list