[meteorite-list] Amateur Astronomer Discovers New Comet (C/2002 E2 Snyder-Murakami)

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:02:30 2004
Message-ID: <200203172235.OAA11397_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://www.svherald.com/archives/index.inn?loc=detail&doc=/2002/March/14-3507-news1.txt

Stargazer finds comet
BY LYN SOUTHERLAND
Sierra Vista Herald
March 14, 2002

PALOMINAS - With his eyes on the skies and the strains of "Some Enchanted
Evening" playing in the background, Doug Snyder made the discovery of a
lifetime early Monday morning.

The amateur stargazer discovered a new comet streaking through the Aquila
Constellation in the heart of the Summer Milky Way galaxy.

During the past couple of weeks, the retired Palominas resident had been
scanning the skies with his 20-inch reflector telescope in hopes of
finding something new.

At 3:40 on Monday morning, he happened across "a little gray smudge"
nestled in the Aquila Constellation. He did some quick research using a
sky atlas and numerous databases, but couldn't locate any references to
his find.

Trying not to get his hopes too high, Snyder checked the comet's location
again. "The comet had moved a bit, but not too much, and I found it again
fairly easily. Dawn was coming, and my view of the comet was fading, but
by now I was becoming more sure of my discovery," Snyder said.

He immediately e-mailed news of his discovery to the Central Bureau for
Astronomical Telegrams, the Harvard-affiliated clearinghouse for new
discoveries. It was 4 a.m. and the world was being told the latest space
find had been made at a small observatory in Southeastern Arizona.

Several anxious hours later, he received a reply. CBAT has spent the
interim time researching his find, verifying Snyder's experience and
credentials, and locating the comet. CBAT asked for additional information,
which Snyder provided, and then he waited.

"It's been a whirlwind couple of days," Snyder said. "But yesterday
(Tuesday), they finally let me know that I had really discovered a new
comet."

He will share some of the credit with a Japanese amateur astronomer,
Murakami, who independently sighted the comet, albeit several hours after
Snyder.

As Snyder waited, he recorded his discovery and his emotions in his
astronomy journal. It was then that he realized what song had been
playing in the background at the time of his discovery.

He says the lyrics to Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Some Enchanted Evening"
were perfect:

"Some enchanted evening, you may see a stranger

You may see a stranger across a crowded room,

an' somehow you'll know, you'll know even then,

that somewhere you'll see her again and again."

Snyder is no stranger to the romance of the stars. He first became
interested in the night skies as a young man growing up in Hawaii.

"I spent a lot of balmy tropical nights on the beach under the stars. It
just grew as a general interest . . . I didn't really become serious about
it until 20 years ago when we got our first good telescope," he said.

After retirement, Snyder and his wife, Jean, moved to Palominas from San
Jose, Calif. They were drawn to the area by the beauty of the Huachucas and
the San Pedro Valley, the tightknit community of Palominas and, of course, the
dark night skies.

After settling into their new home and connecting with other local amateur
astronomers, Snyder began work on creating his own observatory. The Palominas
Star Haven Observatory was dedicated in January 2001.

Snyder is an active member of the Huachuca Astronomy Club and a member of
the University Foundation of Sierra Vista involved in the planning and fund
raising for Observatory Project 2002 at University of Arizona South.

"The neat thing about being out here, and being into astronomy, is that
there's so many other people here that are into it, at least a little bit.
This discovery should spark some more interest in astronomy, especially in
kids . . . they're so curious about everything," Snyder said.

Snyder said people always ask astronomers if they believe in "aliens." He
said, "I see so many stars, a countless number of stars similar to our sun.
I have no doubt that there are other civilizations. I believe there is life
outside our solar system."

Snyder plans to continue searching the night skies, just for the pleasure of
it, just to enjoy the romance of seeing the heavens.

And he'll probably be humming "Some Enchanted Evening."

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http://www.space.com/spacewatch/new_comet_020316.html

Amateur Astronomer Sights New Comet
By Associated Press
16 March 2002

SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (AP) _ Amateur stargazer Doug Snyder had spent days
scanning the skies with his 20-inch reflector telescope hoping to find
something new when he happened upon ``a little gray smudge.''

The little smudge proved to be a very big deal: It was a new comet.

The Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams _ the Harvard
University-affiliated clearinghouse for new discoveries _ confirmed
Tuesday that Snyder was the first person to sight the comet Monday as
it streaked through the Aquila Constellation in the heart of the Summer
Milky Way, which is a specific section of the Milky Way galaxy.

A Japanese amateur astronomer, Shigeki Murakami, sighted the comet a
few hours later and is considered a co-discoverer.

The find was dubbed Comet Snyder-Murakami.

``It's been a whirlwind couple of days,'' Snyder told the Sierra Vista
Herald.

Snyder said that after sighting the smudge early Monday, he did some
research using a sky atlas and numerous databases, but couldn't locate
any references to his find. He checked the comet's location again.

``The comet had moved a bit, but not too much, and I found it again
fairly easily. Dawn was coming, and my view of the comet was fading,
but by now I was becoming more sure of my discovery,'' Snyder said.

According to the bureau, Comet Snyder-Murakami was the third comet to
be discovered visually during the past year.
Received on Sun 17 Mar 2002 05:35:06 PM PST