COMETS & COMET HUNTING

By RAHUL ZOTA

KUTCH AMATEUR ASTRONOMER’S CLUB-BHUJ

WHAT ARE COMETS?
• OFTEN POPULARLY DESCRIBED AS “DIRTY-SNOW
BALLS”

• THEY COME IN TWO MAIN PARTS, A HEAD AND A

TAIL

• THE HEAD IS KNOWN AS THE NUCLEUS AND IS

ENVELOPPED BY AN ATMOSPHERE KNOWN AS THE
“COMA”

• THE NUCLEUS IS COMPOSED OF ICES OF WATER,

AMMONIA, CARBON DIOXIDE AND METHANE
WITH DUST MIXED IN
STRUCTURE OF A COMET
• WHEN THE COMET APPROACHES THE INNER SOLAR
SYSTEM, SOLAR RADIATION CAUSES THE MATERIALS
WITHIN THE COMET TO VAPORIZE AND STREAM OUT
THE NUCLEUS CARRYING THE DUST AWAY FROM
THEM.

• THE DUST AND GAS FORM A HUGE ATMOSPHERE

AROUND THE COMET CALLED THE COMA

• THE TAIL FORMS DUE TO SUN’S RADIATION

PRESSURE AND SOLAR WIND. THE TAIL POINTS AWAY
FROM THE SUN
• BOTH THE COMA AND TAIL ARE ILLUMINATED BY
THE SUN AND THUS BECOME VISIBLE FROM
EARTH WHEN THE COMET PASSES THROUGH THE
INNER SOLAR SYSTEM
 COMET’S ORBIT
• COMETS COME IN TWO TYPES OF ORBITAL PERIODS,
1) SHORT-PERIOD AND 2) LONG PERIOD

• SHORT PERIODIC ORIGINATE IN THE KUIPER BELT

• LONG PERIODIC ORIGINATE IN THE OORT CLOUD

• COMETS PLUNGE IN THE INNER SOLAR SYSTEM

BECAUSE OF GRAVITATIONAL PERTURBATION
CAUSED BY EITHER MASSIVE PLANETS OR PASSING
STARS
• THE ORBITAL PERIOD OF SHORT PERIODIC
COMETS IS LESS THAN 200 YEARS

• THE ORBITAL PERIOD OF LONG PERIODIC COMETS

IS GREATER THAN 200 YEARS

• COMETS ARE DISTINGUISHED FROM ASTEROIDS

BY THE PRESENCE OF A COMA & A TAIL
A COMET’S ORBIT AROUND THE SUN
COMET’S ORIGIN
 NOMENCLATURE

• P/2010 V1 IKEYA-MURAKAMI IS THE NAME GIVEN

TO THE LATEST VISUALLY DISCOVERED COMET

• P/ INDICATES A PERIODIC COMET (ORBIT LESS

THAN 200 YEARS)

• 2010 INDICATES THE YEAR OF ITS DISCOVERY

• V1 INDICATES THE HALF-MONTH OF THE

DISCOVERY AND THE NUMBER “1” INDICATES THE
ORDER OF DISCOVERY
P/2010 V1 IKEYA-MURAKAMI
• SUCH AS “P” THERE ARE ALSO LETTERS LIKE “C”, “X”, “D” &
“A”

• C/ INDICATES A NON-PERIODIC COMET

• X/ INDICATES A COMET FOR WHICH NO RELIABLE ORBIT

COULD BE CALCULATED (HISTORICAL COMETS)

• D/ INDICATES A COMET WHICH HAS BROKEN UP OR BEEN

LOST

• A/ INDICATES AN OBJECT THAT WAS MISTAKELY IDENTIFIED

AS A COMET, BUT IS ACTUALLY A MINOR PLANET
SOME NOTABLE COMETS
OF RECENT YEARS
 C/1996 B2 HYAKUTAKE

MAGNITUDE PEAK: 0 DISCOVERED IN JUNE 31, 1996

 C/1995 O1 HALE-BOPP

MAGNITUDE PEAK: 2 DISCOVERED IN JULY 23, 1995

 C/2004 Q2 MACHHOLZ

MAGNITUDE PEAK: 4 DISCOVERED IN 27 AUGUST 2004

 C/2006 P1 MCNAUGHT

MAGNITUDE PEAK: - 5.5 DISCOVERED IN AUGUST 7, 2006

THE BRIGHTEST IN LAST 40 YEARS! REFFERED AS “THE GREAT COMET OF 2007”
 17/P HOLMES

MAGNITUDE PEAK: 4 DISCOVERED IN NOV 6, 1892

THE COMET’S OUTBURST OCCURED IN OCTOBER 23, 2007 AND SHONE @ MAG 4
 C/2007 N3 LULIN

MAGNITUDE PEAK: 5 DISCOVERED IN JULY 11, 2007

 103P HARTLEY

MAGNITUDE PEAK: 6 DISCOVERED IN 15 MARCH 1986

 FATE OF COMETS

SHOEMAKER-LEVY 9 COLLIDED WITH 73P SHWASSMANN-WACHMANN

JUPITER IN JULY 1994 BROKE INTO FRAGMENTS IN MAY 2006
COMET HUNTING
 WHY DISCOVER COMETS?

• PROFESSIONAL SURVEYS LIKE SWAN, LINEAR,

NEAT etc ARE MAKING MOST OF COMET
DISCOVERIES THESE DAYS

• THEY KEEP THEIR EYE ON THE SKY TO WATCH

FOR ASTEROIDS & COMETS IN ORDER TO
PROTECT EARTH FROM THEIR IMPACTS

• DURING AUTOMATIC SKY SCAN THEY CAPTURE

NEW COMETS
• THEY FIND AN AVERAGE NUMBER OF 150-200
COMETS PER YEAR

• FOR AN AMATEUR ASTRONOMER A COMET

DISCOVERY IS FOR NAME & FAME!

• COMET HUNTING IS A WAY OF OBSERVING THE

NIGHT SKY IN A NEW MANNER!

• VISUAL COMET HUNTING IS AN ADVANCED PART

OF AMATEUR ASTRONOMY
• FOR AMATEURS THERE IS A YEARLY EDGAR
WILSON PRICE OF $ 20,000 TO BE DEVIDED

• NOBODY INDIAN FROM THE INDIAN SOIL HAS

DISCOVERED A COMET YET

• VAINU BAPPU DISCOVERED A COMET FROM U.S.

• POGSON DISCOVERED A COMET FROM INDIA

HOW TO DISCOVER A NEW COMET?
 BASIC PREPARATIONS

• AN OBSERVER SHOULD BE MASTER OF DEEP-SKY

OBJECTS

• AN OBSERVER SHOULD BE FULL OF PATIENCE!

• AN OBSERVER SHOULD BE A DEEP-SKY LOVER

• SHOULD HAVE COMPLETED AT LEAST ONE

MESSIER MATATHON
 REQUIREMENTS
• A SITE FREE FROM LIGHT POLLUTION

• HORIZONS WITH LESS LIGHT POLLUTION

• THE SITE THAT SHOWS AT LEAST 4 mag STARS

THROUGH NAKED-EYE NEAR THE HORIZONS

• A TELESCOPE WITH AT LEAST 5-INCH DIAMETER

• ALT-AZIMUTH MOUNT IS MOST PREFERABLE

• A SMALL BINO (8X40 or 10X50) IS A GOOD
COMPANION, SO IT SHOULD BE KEPT ALONG WITH
THE TELESCOPE

• A NOTE-BOOK AND PENCIL FOR QUICK DRAWINGS

• SKY ATLAS BOOK

• AN ASTRONOMICAL SOFTWARE
A GOOD SITE, FREE OF LIGHT POLLUTION IS IDEAL FOR COMET HUNTING
 FEW WEBSITES TO REFER
• FOR LATEST COMET DISCOVERIES
www.comethunter.de (THE COCD HOMEPAGE)

• FOR COMET UPDATES (CURRENTLY PRESENT IN

THE SKY) www.cometchasing.skyhound.com

• SKY COVERAGE PLOTS

www.scully.harvard.edu/~cgi/SkyCoverage.html

• IAU MINOR PLANET CENTER

www.minorplanetcenter.org/iau/mpc.html
SKY COVERAGE PLOT OF DECEMBER 2010 SHOWING THE ENTIRE SKY
COVERED BY PROFESSIONAL SURVEYS
 COMET HUNTING TECHNIQUES

• COMETS ARE BRIGHTER WHEN NEAR THE SUN

• SEARCH THE AREAS IN THE VICINITY OF SUNRISE

AND SUNSET POINTS

• THE SKY WITHIN 80 DEGREES SOLAR ELONGATION

IS KNOWN AS “THE COMET HAYSTACK REGION”
AND IS MOST FERTILE REGION TO DISCOVER NEW
COMETS
JANUARY’S PRE-DAWN SKY IN WHICH REGIONS CLOSE TO THE ECLIPTIC PLANE
WITHIN LIBRA IS THE MOST FERTILE. EXCEPT THAT, REGIONS AT N-NE-E ARE ALSO
WORTH TO SCAN
 COMET HUNTING TECHNIQUES
• SEARCH IN THE WEST, NORTH-WEST, SOUTH-WEST
AND SOUTH IF YOU ARE CONDUCTING EVENING
SEARCH

• SEARCH IN THE EAST, NORTH-EAST, SOUTH-EAST AND

SOUTH IF YOU ARE CONDUCTING MORNING SEARCH

• START YOUR PURSUIT 45 MINUTES AFTER SUNSET IN

THE WESTERN SKY

• START YOUR PURSUIT 1-2 HOURS BEFORE THE

BEGINNING OF TWILIGHT IN THE EASTERN SKY
• BY LOOKING THROUGH THE EYEPIECE MOVE THE
TELESCOPE IN EITHER HORIZONTAL OR VERTICAL
STRIP IN THE SKY

• USE A WIDE-FIELD EYEPIECE AND SPEND 2-5 SECONDS

IN EACH FIELD-OF-VIEW (FOV)

• AFTER COMPLETING EACH STRIP MOVE THE SCOPE

EITHER EASWARD OR WESTWARD AND CONTINUE IN
THE REVERSE DIRECTION

• OVERLAPE THE 30% FOV OF THE PREVIOUS STRIP FOR

NOT TO MISS THE SUSPECT LURKING IN THE EDGE
VERTICAL SKY SWEEPING PATTERN

COURTESY: SHIGEKI MURAKAMI

 COMET HUNTING TECHNIQUES

• TRY TO COVER AN AREA OF 200-300 SQUARE

DEGREES OF THE SKY IN YOUR SINGLE SESSION

• STAY AWAY FROM THE MOON!

• PUT A PIECE OF CLOTH OVER YOUR HEAD

COVERING THE EYEPIECE TO AVOID THE
EXTERNAL LIGHTS AND TO KEEP YOUR BOTH
EYES OPEN
APPEARANCE OF A NEW COMET
DEGREE OF CONDENSATION

EACH NUMBER STATES THE

D.O.C. VALUE OF COMET. THE
D.O.C. VALUE STATES HOW
SOFT THE COMA IS ON A SCALE
OF 0-9
 WHAT TO DO IF YOU FINDS ONE?
• A NEW COMET WILL APPEAR LIKE A FAINT, FUZZY
PATCH OF LIGHT

• FIND OUT THE OBJECT’S EXACT LOCATION

• CONFIRM THAT THERE IS NO KNOW DEEP-SKY

OBJECT OR ANY KNOWN COMET IN THAT
LOCATION

• MAKE A ROUGH DRAWING

• SPEND TIME TO FIND OUT WHETHER THE OBJECT

IS MOVING OR NOT
COMET’S MOTION
 HOW TO REPORT A COMET DISCOVERY?
WRITE UP AN E-MAIL MENTIONING THE FOLLOWING DETAILS

• 1) THE EXACT DATE AND TIME OF YOUR

OBSERVATION
• 2) YOUR TELESCOPE’S SIZE AND THE SITE USED
• 3) THE OBJECT’S PRECISE COORDINATES
• 4) ITS RATE AND DIRECTION OF MOTION
• 5) ITS ESTIMATED MAGNITUDE
• 6) INCLUDE YOUR NAME, POSTAL ADDRESS,
PHONE/FAX, AND E-MAIL
• 7) SEND THIS MAIL TO cbat@cfa.harvard.edu
MY COMET HUNTING PURSUIT
• I BEGAN VISUAL COMET HUNTING IN MAY 2007

• I BEGAN TO TAKE INTEREST IN COMETS AFTER

OBSERVING COMET MACHHOLZ IN 2004 DURING
GEMINID METEOR WATCH

• IN 2005 WHILE OBSERVING SATURN, I STUMBLED

UPON NGC 2392 (THE ESKIMO NEBULA). THIS
INCIDENT MADE ME MORE BUOYANT TO START
SYSTEMATIC COMET SEARCH
• IN DECEBER 2005 I JOINED A COMET HUNTING
WORKSHOP HELD IN PUNE AND LEARNED
TECHNIQUES FROM MR. VISHNU REDDY, THE
FAMOUS ASTEROID HUNTER

• I PURCHASED AN 8-INCH NEWTONIAN TELESCOPE

IN MAY 2007

• I ALSO PURCHASED GIANT 25X100 (4-INCH) I.F.

BINOCULARS IN JULY 2009
 MY EQUIPMENTS

8-INCH NEWTONIAN TELESCOPE 25X100 I.F. BINOCULARS

 MY OBSERVING SITES
• I USE MY HOME’S TERRACE AND BALCONY FOR
MOST OF MY COMET HUNTING

• I OCCASSIONALY GO OUT CARRYING MY 25X100

BINOCULARS

• FROM MY CITY, BHUJ (INDIA), I CAN SEE 5.5 MAG

STARS THROUGH NAKED EYE

• JUST TRAVELLING 10 KM FROM THE CITY GIVES

BEST SKIES (6.5 MAG N.E.L.M.)!
MY HOME’S BALCONY FROM WHERE I SPEND MOST OF THE TIME NOWADAYS
THE SKY AS APPEARS FROM MY HOME’S OBSERVING SITE
 MY COMET HUNTING LOG
TILL JANUARY 2011

• YEAR 2007 --------- 5:01 HOURS

• YEAR 2008 -------- 17:07 HOURS

• YEAR 2009 -------- 58:19 HOURS

• YEAR 2010 --------- 13:10 HOURS

• JANUARY 2011 ----- 3:50 HOURS

SESSIONS: 127

HOURS: 97:27

SATELLITES: 163

METEORS: 78

OBJECTS (COMET MASQUERADERS): 84

 FEW COMMENTS
• NOVEMBER 2008 WAS MY FIRST PROLIFIC MONTH IN WHICH I
SPENT 7:22 HOURS (MY BEST IS 13:29 hrs IN FEB 09)

• ON 23-1-09 I SWEPT UP COMET LULIN (MAG 7) WHILE

SEARCHING

• ON 17-2-09 I SWEPT UP A FAINT GLOBULAR NGC 5286. THIS

MADE ME VERY MUCH EXCITED I THOUGH IT SHOULD BE A
NEW COMET!

• ON 14-3-09 I COULD HAVE DISCOVERED COMET C/2009 E1

ITAGAKI. IT WAS NEAR VENUS AND I WANTED TO SCAN
THERE BUT COULDN’T SWEEP THAT PART DUE TO MY
BROTHER’S ARRIVAL!
SOME SUCCESSFUL COMET HUNTERS

WILLIAM BRADFIELD
(AUSTRALIA)

18 COMETS
 DONALD MACHHOLZ (U.S.) DAVID H. LEVY (ARIZONA, U.S.)

DISCOVERED 11 COMETS VISUALLY DISCOVERED 9 COMETS VISUALLY

 THANK YOU!

www.comethunting.blogspot.com
RAHUL K. ZOTA
www.skygazersbhuj.blogspot.com
BHUJ, INDIA
www.jaincosmos.blogspot.com rahul_zota@yahoo.com