Sunday, November 16, 2003

Encke The Comet

Been a lot going on lately out in space that we have been able to see and hopefully you have all enjoyed the shows.  I have missed most of them because of cloud coverage although I did get to see the meteor shower in Orion’s belt back in October.

Get ready for more because you will soon be able to see the comet, Encke...just know that more than likely you will need binoculars or a telescope.

"Currently, the comet is in the constellation of Cygnus, the Swan, located in the Swan�s outspread right wing and shining at around ninth magnitude, too dim to see with the naked eye.
On Friday evening, Nov. 14, it will be passing close to the second-magnitude star Gienah. For the next couple of weeks, the comet will move swiftly south and west against the background stars.
Interestingly, Encke will be passing through two unusual star patterns...On Nov. 18 it will passing across the upper part of the �Cowboy Boot� of Vulpecula, while on Nov. 22 it will be very close to the �Coat Hanger� star cluster.
Although the comet will be moving away from the Earth after Nov. 17, its continued approach to the Sun should offset its fading. In fact, Encke will noticeably brighten, probably reaching magnitude 6.5 � the threshold of naked-eye visibility � by Dec. 5."

As the article states at the end, if you do see it, you will have seen it one more time than the astronomer, Encke did.  To each their own but half the fun of astronomy for me is getting out there and seeing things with or without the telescope.