A Comet is coming !
I know its early days but finally it seems like a major comet (C/2012 S1) is coming during my lifetime. Yes I know there was Halley in 1984 and there was one in the 1990's that I saw in the skies of Southern Ontario. But neither were anything close to challenging the brightness of the moon. Discovered by two Russian astronomers in September, the comet is currently visible to telescopes and should cross the naked eye visibility threshold in late October. From there, although this is not yet certain, it could brighten up to the level of the full moon and beyond. I have been disappointed in the past but I intend to keep an eye on this one in the hopes that finally I will see a comet that resembles the photos you see in magazines. Maybe even take my own photo that you can be sure will be posted to this page.
Stargazing live !
On the last show, Jan 10th, the comet was discussed. I have learnt that it is called Comet Ison and will pass within 800,000 kms of the sun. The excitement is based upon its already apparent brightness and its trajectory that will bring it close to earth.
Hubble captures comet Ison
Images provided by NASA indicate comet Ison continues to outshine other comets for its current distance from the sun (Just inside Jupiter's orbit in April 2013) Studies reveal that the brightness is caused by the comet vaporising CO and CO2 gases which are more volatile than water. There is still much doubt as to whether the brightness will continue to grow once water becomes the 'fuel'. But there remains a view of optimism that this could potentially be quite the show.
Comet Status August 2013
The comet is now between the orbits of Jupiter and Mars and continues to grow in intensity including the development of a tail as the solar wind starts to boil off volatiles. NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope is now taking regular photos of the comet as it develops. I am still not 100% confident that this comet will be the display promised but I live in hope and also hope that more news starts to be give out as the autumn progresses.
Comet Status September 2013
Reports indicate the comet is currently 183 million miles from the sun and heading towards its November 28th perihelion. It is said to be dimmer than expected and hopes are always tempered by what happened last time when comet Kohoutek was predicted to be the comet of the century and basically fizzled out. A lot depends on whether the comet survives its perihelion only 900000 miles from the sun's surface. Hopefully it will survive intact and will then approach the earth within 40 million miles and be visible with the naked eye. If it breaks up, then its game over. If it emerges intact in early December then things may prove worth watching. NASA is also planning for its spacecraft currently on Mars and orbiting Mercury to turn their cameras in the comets direction. So all eyes are set on the comet and are prepared for whatever happens.
Comet Status November 2013
As the comet nears the sun the tail can now be seen in the east before dawn and in Wales the problem now is the weather. I am praying for a clear night but others may be luckier. The comet is brighter than I expected but so far not quite the event of the century. Still we live in hope as it gets closer to the sun and more material streams off. The hope is that it will survive intact and emerge from behind the sun in early December to give a good evenings viewing sometime in that month.
Comet Status December 2013
The Comet Survived !!! After closely grazing the Sun's chromosphere NASA telescopes observed a small comet head emerge from the sun on November 29th much to everyone's relief. There is no certainty whether enough has survived to give any display here on earth but this comet has produced many surprises so we are still hopeful that we can report something later this month.
Comet Status December 7th 2013
Despite a hopeful observation of the comet emerging from the sun in early December, it appears that the sun had indeed destroyed the comet since the light that emerged, quickly diminished, and went out like a candle being snuffed. The problem seems to have been that Comet Ison was a sun grazer. It followed an orbit that took the comet to the very edge of the sun's chromosphere. As a result it is believed that the intense heat and radiation melted the core and the comet broke up. What emerged was the disintegrating head that quickly lost its contiguity.
This has been an interesting blog to write and I was truly interested in the possibility of seeing a substantial comet in my lifetime. After the dismal Haley's comet in 1986 I was perhaps a little too enthusiastic. I look forward to the next visitor from the Oort cloud, you never know what may happen in the world of space billiards.
Abbey. The bad news is the abbey is almost totally a ruin. The good news is that the cruciform outline of the church is beautifully preserved and the west door in all its glory is still standing. Built on land provided by Rhys ap Gruffudd the abbey took 50 years to build starting in 1184. The abbey was one of the most important in Wales and was the base of Henry IV's operations against Owain Glyndwr. The church was demolished at the dissolution of 1540. Buried under rubble, the Victorians rediscovered the abbey and restored it to what we see today..jpg)
