Comet LINEAR will be well placed in
the northwest about 10:00 PM on July 22, the date of our star party.
This comet was discovered September 27, 1999, by the Lincoln Laboratory
Near Earth Asteroid Research program at White Sands, New Mexico, hence
the strange, all-caps designation of the comet - unusual and clever, no?
After seeing John Bell's recent presentation
on impacts, it's comforting to know that at least a few people are actively
looking for near-earth objects that might be dangerous to our health.
Such objects are found by observing their rapid motion in relation to the
"fixed" stars. Before dawn in early July, I could easily see LINEAR
move in my scope over periods of a few minutes. Of course, the comet
doesn't go whooshing across the sky. Instead, it moves like the minute
hand of a clock - you detect movement by its changes in position.
Earlier, it was thought the comet would
become a naked-eye object, but that now appears unlikely. However,
a nice tail is readily visible in a scope. The comet will reach perihelion
July 26 at a distance of 71 million miles from the sun. It will be
closest to earth on July 22 at a distance of 35 million miles. Come
and see it with us! |
