[meteorite-list] Easy comet, easy go

From: Elizabeth Warner <warnerem_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:03:28 -0400
Message-ID: <4BA8F460.9030800_at_astro.umd.edu>

Umm, yes there is... it's a SOHO comet...

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2007IAUC.8844....1U
[BUT, this may be the wrong name... another website has some corrections
from Howe, see below]

He took 6 images and there were more images taken the next day...

"... Mr Howes captured six images that showed what appears to be a
mountain-sized chunk of ice that has broken away from the giant "dirty
snowball" that forms the nucleus of a comet.

A second set of images obtained the following day - last Friday - showed
that the new fragment is still trailing the comet, which is officially
called Comet C2007 C3. "


Ohh. here's another website that has some corrections...
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1260049/Exploding-comet.html

Corrections to the above

1: Orbit is wrong, this should be updated (Faulkes Telescope will
contact the Mail)
2: It was first spotted in 2007, hence C/2007 Q3
3: IAU replied a few days later confirming my observations. The official
announcement from the IAU is still pending
4: Other observatories have seen the event, I was the first to publicly
announce it
5: American astronomers at Williams University did not see the event, as
their telescope and seeing may have not been sufficient

- Nick Howes, London UK, 23/3/2010 12:27



Clear Skies!
Elizabeth



Richard Kowalski wrote:
> The comet discussed here (and apparently no where else), C/2007 C3 doesn't exist, or maybe I should say there is no such comet with this designation.
>
> To be sure that this is actually a fragment, you need more than a single image. I don't see any indication that this is anything more than a background star.
>
> --
> Richard Kowalski
> Full Moon Photography
> IMCA #1081
>
>
> --- On Tue, 3/23/10, Darren Garrison <cynapse at charter.net> wrote:
>
>> From: Darren Garrison <cynapse at charter.net>
>> Subject: [meteorite-list] Easy comet, easy go
>> To: meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com
>> Date: Tuesday, March 23, 2010, 5:52 AM
>> Photos at link.
>>
>> http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/8579963.stm
>>
>> Amateur sees comet breaking up from desktop
>>
>> An amateur astronomer has made a "major astronomical
>> discovery" while accessing
>> a telescope in Hawaii over the internet while at work in
>> the UK.
>>
>> Nick Howes took pictures showing the icy nucleus of a comet
>> breaking up while he
>> sat at his desk in Wiltshire.
>>
>> He used a remote-controlled telescope through the Faulkes
>> Telescope Project, run
>> by experts from Cardiff University.
>>
>> Dr Paul Roche said the university was delighted and that
>> the images appear to
>> show the comet nucleus disintegrating.
>>
>> "What this illustrates is what is achievable when amateur
>> astronomers can get
>> their hands on such a powerful telescope," he said.
>>
>> The School of Physics and Astronomy's project, which was
>> created to help teach
>> schoolchildren science and maths, offers access to a pair
>> of remotely controlled
>> telescopes, located on the Hawaiian island of Maui, and at
>> Siding Spring in
>> Australia - via the internet.
>>
>> Using the ?5m Faulkes Telescope North in Maui, Mr Howes
>> captured six images that
>> showed what appears to be a mountain-sized chunk of ice
>> that has broken away
>> from the giant "dirty snowball" that forms the nucleus of a
>> comet.
>>
>> A second set of images obtained the following day - last
>> Friday - showed that
>> the new fragment is still trailing the comet, which is
>> officially called Comet
>> C2007 C3.
>>
>> Dr Roche said: "As the nucleus of a comet is typically tens
>> of kilometres
>> across, this fragment is probably mountain-sized, and will
>> become a small comet
>> as it gradually separates from its parent."
>>
>> It is now hoped that astronomers will follow up Mr Howes's
>> discovery using
>> instruments such as the Hubble space telescope.
>>
>> "We hope to involve schools in observing this comet over
>> the next few weeks, so
>> that we can see what happens to this new fragment," added
>> Dr Roche.
>>
>> It is also hoped that this discovery will help encourage
>> others to use the
>> telescope for research and to help make new scientific
>> discoveries.
>>
>> Last year, another amateur astronomer, working with several
>> UK schools and the
>> Faulkes Telescope Project, discovered the fastest-rotating
>> asteroid in the solar
>> system.
>>
>> More than 200 UK schools have used the telescopes to help
>> in science lessons,
>> often gathering data that is used by university
>> researchers.
>>
>> "As well as amateur astronomers this project allows
>> researchers from the
>> university to help schools access professional equipment,
>> and learn more about
>> how modern science is really done," Dr Roche said.
>>
>> "We hope this discovery will help encourage others to use
>> the Faulkes Telescopes
>> and lead to even more scientific discoveries."
>>
>> The Faulkes Telescope Project was launched in March 2004 by
>> the Dill Faulkes
>> Educational Trust, as a way of helping to inspire school
>> students to study
>> science and maths.
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>
>
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Received on Tue 23 Mar 2010 01:03:28 PM PDT