Comet McNaught
in the Evening Sky.
Year ago,
in
January-February 2007 you would not need a telescope to
see spectacular comet
McNaught. Images like this could be easily
taken with pocket cameras from the backyard lawn if you knew where and
when to look.
Comets of such
brightness are pretty rare. This one was brightest since
1965. However for the last 10 years there were few comets that you
could easily spot without aid of telescope, even if you live in the big
city.
Here
is the list of the brightest comets since 1935. The
great comet of 2007 came to the Sun either from very edge of solar
system or even from interstellar space. This comet type known as non
periodic.
It's orbit is so close to parabola that it's impossible to calculate
its next appearance near the Sun. It may happen few thousands years
from now, or it may never happen again. Another famous non-periodic
comet that was clearly visible without telescope or binocular was
Hale-Bopp
comet of 1997.
If you have binocular or
small telescope, and want to see a comet this is the list of links that
may be useful:
This
wikipedia article have up-to date list of currently visible comets.
This page have list of current and upcoming
events interesting for amateur astronomers, along with tips and tricks
for beginners.
British astronomical association page dedicated to comets observation.
Simple looking text page with lots of current information.
Check other (much
better) images of
comet
McNaught. This images where taken by Rob McNaught himself!
Cool
Pictures
