That's not literally true though. There are always faint fuzzies about assuming you're willing to look deep enough. At 10th or even 12th magnitude, the challenge is in finding, then recognizing, and subsequently following them. But for the big, bright ones--you sit back in a deck chair and enjoy the nightly star-spangled show!
Mind you, we've had a good run with Hyakutake, a fleeting upstart in 1996, and Hale-Bopp, discovered in 1995, at its best in the spring of 1997. So the 20th century concluded in respectable fashion after all, despite the comet drought of the 80’s and 90’s. But it’s s new century, and we're overdue for another show-stopper, don't you think?
As a teenager, I remember the “comet of the century,” Kohoutek in 1973. My disillusionment was not being able to find it. I now know I didn’t have observing skills, suitable skies or equipment to find it. I was apparently not the only one let down by that comet, and the prospects were dim. Halley was due to 1986, and who knew where I’d be then?
As it turned out, I was in southern Delaware, and I had never lived outside a city under such dark skies. Halley came and went more or less as expected, nice though far from spectacularly. But I recall many nights of enjoyment finding and plotting it on my 60’s vintage copy of Norton’s. Comets, and this comet in particular, are the reason I took up star gazing again.
Comets came and went and I improved my ability to find and follow them. Swift-Tuttle’s overdue recovery, as well as a premature prediction that it might collide with Earth next time round, guaranteed abundant press coverage. I watched it regularly, and even took advantage of the temporary darkness afforded by a total lunar eclipse in late 1992. I emailed my comet observations to a glossy magazine, and that subsequently lead to my association with the Delmarva Star Gazers.
Observing opportunities, advice and equipment were easier to come by now. Hyakutake served as a warm up, the subject of my first astrophotos worth showing around. By the time Hale-Bopp peaked, I was ready and waiting with a barn-door mount and a hardly-been-used CCD camera. That was great fun, more than making up for the cometary disappointments years ago.
Digging out the snapshots and searching the hard drive are fine for tonight. I wonder if anyone’s discovered the next bright comet? Don’t you think I’d better log on, just in case?
FYI, for current news and information, surf to Charles Morris’ Comet Observation Home Page and Gary Kronk’s Comet Page. I also highly recommended Chapter 8 in Neil Bone's Observing Meteors, Comets, Supernovae and Other Transient Phenomena (1998)--an excellent summary of 20th century comets.
Moondark is written by Doug Miller and published on the web, in the Delmarva Star Gazers'Star Gazer News and in the Delaware Astronomical Society's FOCUS. Please address comments and suggestions to dmiller@udel.edu. This document was last revised on 21 May '00. All text and images copyright © 2000 Douglas C. Miller, All Rights Reserved. This material may not be reproduced in any form without prior permission.
Top to bottom: comets Hyakutake (showing distinctive blue-green fluorescence), Hale-Bopp (double ion and dust tails), 21P/Giacobini-Zinner (stacked CCD images causing trailed field stars), and "Miller"--complete with orange dust tail, a gift from my son's class at Silverdale School