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Current Comets
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Because trees obscured my western view I didn't get to see it when it
brightened higher than 6th magnitude. If you didn't see it either don't despair, there are several nice comets to view this month. Here are their position this Friday evening, which is BBAA's Skywatch night. I shall list them in order of RA: 154P/Brewington Psc 00h 19m +12 34', 11.9 magnitude C/2001 HT 50 Monoceros 06h 41m +02 18, 11.5 magnitude C/2001 RX 14 (LINEAR) UMa 11h 50m +41 06, 10.7 magnitude C2002 Y1 Draco 19h 36 + +60 56' 8.1 mangnitude Good luck. At least one of these should be visible with moderate binoculars. Kent Blackwell |
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By the comet referred to as "it" in my last backbayastro post, I was of
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course speaking of Comet C/2002 V1 (NEAT). For those who don't know, the names LINEAR, NEAT, etc. are the names of the satellite which discovered the comet. Real people who discover comets have their names assigned to comets as well, but their names are not listed in all caps; these caps are abbreviations for the satellite's full name. Isn't a comet more interesting when a human being discovered it? You know, it used to be a real challenge to discover a comet, now with all those searching satellites out there it's nearly impossible. I guess the satellites requires less sleep than we so they have more viewing hours. Kent ----- Original Message -----
From: <kent@...> To: <backbayastro@...> Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2003 2:49 PM Subject: [backbayastro] Current Comets Because trees obscured my western view I didn't get to see it when it |
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Rick Bish <2bookworms@cox.net> <2bookworms@...>
Hey Kent,
My name is Rick. I joined the BBAA in November and am still learning some of the terminology. You and I have actually never met, but I did have a question about the terms "Right Ascension and Declination." The reason I'm asking you, is because you used those terms in you're note about current comets. At the end of the note, I was unable to imagine where those comets would be (not your fault at all). I've taken a couple of college astronomy courses and that's one thing I needed more time to understand. I've heard lot of "sage" scientists and astronomy people using those terms. Could you (or anyone out there in BBAA Land, for that matter!)explain the terms "Right Ascension and Declination" as if you were explaining them to a 10-year-old? How do I find celestial objects this way? Thanks! Rick Bish |
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Hello Rick. Think of Right Ascension and Declination this way. When we draw
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a map of the earth we use latitude and longitude lines. This greatly assists in finding an accurate location. The same is done in the sky. We draw imaginary lines across the sky. Those line running north and south are called RA, or Right Ascension. Lines running east and west are DEC, or declination. If you look at any detailed map of the sky you'll see these marked on sky maps. I suggest you go to a library or bookstore near you and see if any books are offered with good sky maps. A couple of especially good star atlases for beginners are listed below. I doubt you'll find either at a library or any local bookstores, but each can be ordered. The Edmund is especially recommended for a beginner, and besides the star maps is crammed with much useful information. It's beautifully written by the late Sam Brown in the 1950s. In the late 1970s it was updated by Terence Dickinson, and again in the late 1990s. I still refer to mine and I've been observing more years than I care to remember. Kent Blackwell The Edmund Mag 5 Star Atlas ID30091-18 $6.95 www.scientificsonlin.com 800-728-6999 Wil Tirion's Bright Star Atlas 2000 @$10 Wilmann-Bell Richmond, VA www.willbell.com 804-320-7016 ----- Original Message -----
From: <2bookworms@...> To: <backbayastro@...> Sent: Friday, February 21, 2003 9:19 PM Subject: [backbayastro] Re: Current Comets Hey Kent, |
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Woody, Denice K <denice.k.woody@...>
And a trick I use to remember which is which is Declination is when you're
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laying down flat and Right Ascension is ascending upwards towards the sky..... -----Original Message-----
From: S. Kent Blackwell [mailto:kent@...] Sent: Saturday, February 22, 2003 9:52 AM To: backbayastro@... Subject: Re: [backbayastro] Re: Current Comets Hello Rick. Think of Right Ascension and Declination this way. When we draw a map of the earth we use latitude and longitude lines. This greatly assists in finding an accurate location. The same is done in the sky. We draw imaginary lines across the sky. Those line running north and south are called RA, or Right Ascension. Lines running east and west are DEC, or declination. If you look at any detailed map of the sky you'll see these marked on sky maps. I suggest you go to a library or bookstore near you and see if any books are offered with good sky maps. A couple of especially good star atlases for beginners are listed below. I doubt you'll find either at a library or any local bookstores, but each can be ordered. The Edmund is especially recommended for a beginner, and besides the star maps is crammed with much useful information. It's beautifully written by the late Sam Brown in the 1950s. In the late 1970s it was updated by Terence Dickinson, and again in the late 1990s. I still refer to mine and I've been observing more years than I care to remember. Kent Blackwell The Edmund Mag 5 Star Atlas ID30091-18 $6.95 www.scientificsonlin.com 800-728-6999 Wil Tirion's Bright Star Atlas 2000 @$10 Wilmann-Bell Richmond, VA www.willbell.com 804-320-7016 ----- Original Message ----- From: <2bookworms@...> To: <backbayastro@...> Sent: Friday, February 21, 2003 9:19 PM Subject: [backbayastro] Re: Current Comets Hey Kent, To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: backbayastro-unsubscribe@... Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ |
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