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Comet ISON update!


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Does not look as if we will get clear enough skies on the Island at Sunset but I'm ready to roll.

Looks better for Pre-sunrise so I will be out early.

Lets jus see what we get

(sneaking back every couple of hours this afternoon and eve to check on Lasco C3 of course).

Mick

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Were/are you involved gkec?  That would be cool!!

Helen

I wrote the s/w to monitor the CDS instrument when it went into the Solar simulator tank at Farnborough.  I was working at RAL who built CDS.  I remember I had to go to Farnborough in the middle of the night because of a hardware issue.  It was easier, quicker and therefore cheaper to modify the software than to let the air back in the tank get the instrument out, fix it, put it back in and pump all the air out again.  The tank was huge, you could get a small lorry in it. 

So I played a small part.

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I wrote the s/w to monitor the CDS instrument when it went into the Solar simulator tank at Farnborough.  I was working at RAL who built CDS.  I remember I had to go to Farnborough in the middle of the night because of a hardware issue.  It was easier, quicker and therefore cheaper to modify the software than to let the air back in the tank get the instrument out, fix it, put it back in and pump all the air out again.  The tank was huge, you could get a small lorry in it. 

So I played a small part.

Great stuff gkec

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Does not look as if we will get clear enough skies on the Island at Sunset but I'm ready to roll.

Looks better for Pre-sunrise so I will be out early.

Lets jus see what we get

(sneaking back every couple of hours this afternoon and eve to check on Lasco C3 of course).

Mick

Forecast is looking quite good for the w/end and no moon either - unfortunately my Eastern horizon is hidden by houses and trees, so will have to consider a trip out to Culver next week if the conditions allow and Ison's still holding together.

Otherwise I'll be content with a good run on Jupiter and perhaps the Horsehead/Flame.

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I wrote the s/w to monitor the CDS instrument when it went into the Solar simulator tank at Farnborough.  I was working at RAL who built CDS.  I remember I had to go to Farnborough in the middle of the night because of a hardware issue.  It was easier, quicker and therefore cheaper to modify the software than to let the air back in the tank get the instrument out, fix it, put it back in and pump all the air out again.  The tank was huge, you could get a small lorry in it. 

So I played a small part.

Was that at QinetiQ?  Or maybe the airfield out there?   Anyways, thanks again!

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on approach it reach -5 mag and now im guessing its brighter, so if you did not have the glare from the sun due to it close proximity i think you could see it

Just thought I'd mention this (and sorry to be a naysayer but) ISON is a *lot* fainter than it reached on approach to perihelion. It's also much fainter than Antares, which is ~mag 1.

The scientists seem to agree that there is not that much left of ISON. Take a look at Lovejoy after perihelion: Lovejoy_loses_tail.jpg

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Just a snippet from Padma's blog 

http://www.isoncampaign.org/padma/the-art-of-breaking-up

Given all these examples, what is the state of C/ISON? Is it fragmenting or disintegrating? There is suggestion of possible nuclear disintegration, given the low amounts of parent volatiles observed. One can imagine a dry dusty nucleus that is releasing dust by erosion or other processes and being leaked along the orbit, causing a tail of a different color, compared to its gaseous coma. Based on my discussions with Dr. W. Reach (Associate Director for Science, SOFIA and comet expert), speculations focus on the brighter "line segment" or spike could represent small fragments or debris leaking out of the nucleus, seen in images of the comet taken around 21 November 2013. “The shape of the tail also gives me a qualitative impression of there being two "comets". One is the nucleus of ISON, at the front of the pack, with its conical and straight-line tails. The other is the "line segment" which I suspect to be a swarm of small fragments, with a leading arc (almost certainly gas lines) and its OWN tail that is brighter than that of the main nucleus at that location. …possibly originated from the same event that produced a new feature in the comet tail on Nov 12-13. The dust seen then most likely follows a synchrone from an outburst that accompanied the brightening by ~2 magnitudes.”

So, C/ISON, “the lollipop” or 2-in-1 comet, with a bright spike-like main (possibly dusty) tail and a large symmetric gaseous coma, may have a dessicated nucleus that is slowly eroding and leaving crumbs of material as evidence. C/ISON will reveal her secrets, hopefully, on perihelion day. Even if does not, C/ISON has fascinated us as it has demonstrated behaviour reminiscent of various famous comets and yet promises its own legacy.

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