It's Comet Time!

About 10 PM Saturday April 29th -take a look to the east.  Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 3 is an elusive beast.  This periodic comet (meaning that it keeps coming back every so many years) been seen on a number of occassions over the last century but has been difficult to spot.  We are luckier than most observers of this dirty ball of ice and rock.  With the aid of a decent pair of binoculars or a small telescope you should be able to see the comet if you are in reasonably dark skies.  On April 29th you can see the comet near the constellation Hercules -look for the keystone shape of the central part of Hercules.  That will give you a decent chance of finding the comet.  As the days progress, the comet will move through Hercules and into the next constellation.    By the way, when you are looking for 73P don't expect the long tail of the traditional comet.  Most viewers will see the bright nucleus as a faint fuzzy star-like object.  If you are lucky you might get a hint of the tail.  Click on these charts for a bigger version.

We are actually witnessing the destruction of this great dirty snowball.  It has broken apart into more than 30 pieces but only the brightest can be see by our modest observing equipment.  The solar wind emitted by our sun is creating the comet's tail.  The sun also warms the comet, creating warmer areas which cause the comet nucleus to fracture, sending off pieces of itself into space.

The Hubble Space Telescope has been following the breakup of this heavenly interloper.  I've selected one of the more recent pictures here but it's worth the visit to the Hubble website.

The Durham Region Astronomical Association is proud to present "Astronomy Day", Saturday May 6th at the Parkwood Estate 270 Simcoe Street North in Oshawa.  We'll be there from 1 PM to 11 PM with both indoor and outdoor activities so weather won't be an issue!

Join myself and other astronomers along with our telescopes, multimedia and static displays of all things Astronomy.  We'll have all sorts of info for beginning astronomers and the merely curious.  The whole family is invited

Picture Credit: NASA, ESA, H. Weaver (APL/JHU), M. Muchler and Z. Levay (STscI)

Sky Chart:  (c) Image made with Starry Night Software