The Month of Comets!

May 1, 2004

An unexpected visitor made an appearance in the morning skies in late April. The recently discovered Comet Bradfield brightened, then dimmed almost as fast as it came. It did provide some nice views for those who got up early enough to see it. Its long, beautiful tail showed itself well in long exposure photographs. Other than that, chances are likely you missed it!

But that would have just been a bonus.  After all, you already knew that two of the brightest comets since Hale-Bopp in 1997 will become visible to Texans this May. A third bright comet this month would almost be too much to ask for!

Comet LINEAR T7 gave us a sneak preview last December prior to getting lost to southern skies. Though only magnitude 8 at that time, it gave viewers and picture-takers a nice composition, scaring M33, the Pinwheel Galaxy on its way towards the sun. It makes its reappearance on southern horizon toward the end of the month, just in time for us to catch it at its brightest, around magnitude 1. It should be quite impressive, obviously a naked eye object with a tail nearing 20 angular degrees in the sky. As the month ends, LINEAR T7 will begin to dim as it makes its way across Canis Major, passing near M46 and M47 on the 24th, and jumping into Hydra by the end of the month, where it will still shine at an impressive magnitude 3.

By mid-June, the comet should be around magnitude 5, ending the month at approximately magnitude 7, where it will slow down, with reference to the stars, in Sextans and remain there during July when it the western horizon begins to catch back up to it.

Comet NEAT Q4 has been giving southern hemisphere observers quite a show during April. Beginning in May, it will be our turn. Like LINEAR T7, It too will begin to show itself to us in the area of Canis Major. Despite being near its peak of magnitude 1, it will be rather faint at first, requiring optical aid. It should be visible around May 4th very low on the horizon and fighting a near full moon. Use binoculars or a small scope and look near the star Wezen, in the center of Canis Major. By May 8th, it will remain a 1st magnitude comet, climbing high enough in the sky to be visible to the naked eye. It too will show off a tail nearing a length of 20 arc degrees.

At this point, NEAT Q4 will be speeding rapidly across the sky at a rate of around 5 arc degrees per day. By the 10th, it will pass just east of Procyon and within 4 days it will already be passing right near M44, the Beehive Cluster. Get out your cameras, as this should be an excellent photo opportunity…a magnitude 1.5 NEAT Q4 with a magnitude 3.1 open cluster in the same field of view! A week later it will cross into the eastern portion of Lynx, heading north, where it will still shine at around magnitude 2.5. It slows down rapidly at this point and by May 31st it will approach the Big Dipper in Ursa Major still showing itself as a 3rd magnitude comet.

It stays in Ursa Major for the entire month of June, fading away gradually. It should be magnitude 5.5 by the end of June. One month later, NEAT Q4 will actually spin its way toward the east, finding itself within the bowl of the Dipper. At that point, it will still be a 7th magnitude comet. It will stay in that area for the rest of the summer, remaining a telescopic object for most of the rest of the year.

Remember that binoculars and small scopes will usually provide the best views of such comets. You’ll also have plenty of opportunities to photograph them. Try exposures of 30 seconds or less when using a tripod. 35mm SLRs with high-speed film or digital cameras with high ISO settings should provide some great wide field shots. If you have a tracking mount, you can go longer, either guiding on the background stars or the comet itself, for differing looks.

One more thing. Comet Bradfield is still in the morning sky near M31 during the morning hours for much of May, but you’ll need a scope! So I guess there’s still a chance to catch 3 comets this month!