Subj : Re: Halley's Comet
To   : Ed Vance
From : Adept
Date : Fri Nov 01 2024 02:52 pm

 EV> I have been looking at Comet 2023 Atlas in the evening sky here in the
 EV> U.S.A.

I haven't been lucky enough to see it, though I think it's been more about my location, how cloudy it has been, and when I've remembered to go looking. I'm sad about it, as a naked-eye comet is not common.

 EV> While in Elementary School I was told about Halley's Comet, and how
 EV> Everyone was fascinated about its appearance.
 EV> I always imagined that it was very large in size.

I had thought the general response was that it didn't pass particularly close, so was underwhelming as an event.

But perhaps it was more visible in the Southern Hemisphere.

That said, it's doubtlessly the most famous comet, and the only one I'm aware of where there are a lot of historical sightings of it -- though I guess Halley was the one to connect the dots in 1705.

It's also interesting that we're now closer to the next visit than we are to the last, as Halley's Comet started getting closer to the sun as of December of last year.

 EV> Also anyone who saw both  the Halley and Atlas Comets could tell me how
 EV> they compare in size?

Thinking of other comets, were you aware of Hyakutake or Hale-Bopp? They came in 1996 and 1997, and were _obvious_, as they peaked at 0 and -1 in the brightness scale, so were about as bright as the brightest (non-planet) star in the night sky, and took up a much larger portion of the sky, as they were fuzzy blobs.

And they were visible much higher in the sky, too, because of how they came in.

I think the odds aren't _great_ that we'll see something as obvious as Hale-Bopp in the next 50 years, but it would be neat if we could get a few more visible-to-the-naked eye (but no collisions) comets, as it's a celestial treat.

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