February 25, 2004

Pair of Comets for this Spring?

Possibility of a cool display for this spring in the northern hemisphere. As reported by Space.com bq. A pair of comets that astronomers have been monitoring for several months could become plainly visible in the night sky this spring. Each comet is currently visible in telescopes. Scientists can't say for sure how bright they will get, but there is some optimism that both might reflect enough sunlight to be visible to the unaided eye at the same time. And more: bq. "If they brighten as predicted, then both may be visible to the naked eye in late April and part of May," said Dan Green, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) and director of the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams, which monitors comet observations among other things. bq. It would be unusual for two comets to be visible in the sky at once. The objects are catalogued as C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) and C/2002 T7 (LINEAR). I remember seeing one very bright one in the early 1970's - very awesome sight! Posted by DaveH at February 25, 2004 8:23 PM