C/2009 R1 (McNaught)
 | |
| Discovery | |
|---|---|
| Discovered by | Robert H. McNaught |
| Discovery date | September 9, 2009 |
| Designations | |
| C/2009 R1, Comet McNaught | |
| Orbital characteristics | |
| Perihelion | 0.405011[1] |
| Eccentricity | 1.000327[1] |
| Inclination | 77.0070[1] |
| Next perihelion | July 2.6535[1] |
C/2009 R1, one of more than fifty comets known as Comet McNaught,[2] is a non-periodic comet discovered by British-Australian astronomer Robert H. McNaught on September 9, 2009, using the Uppsala Schmidt telescope at Siding Spring Observatory in New South Wales, Australia.[3] The discovery was confirmed the same day at the Optical Ground Station telescope at Tenerife.[3] After the discovery, earlier images of the comet were found from July 20, August 1, and August 18, 2009.[3] Because it has an estimated eccentricity over 1.0, suggesting a hyperbolic trajectory, it is believed C/2009 R1 will leave the Solar System permanently.
Viewing
In early June, 2010, C/2009 R1 was visible with binoculars, and by June 8 it was visible to the unaided eye in a dark sky with little light pollution.[4] It is expected to grow brighter and become widely visible to the unaided eye by mid-[4] or late-June,[5] at which time it will appear between the constellations Auriga and Gemini.[6] Because the new moon on June 12 provided an particularly dark night sky, the weekend of Friday, June 11 to Sunday, June 13 was expected to be the best time to view the comet,[7][8] and it was expected to be "an easy skywatching target for most people."[4]
Cometary brightness is difficult to predict, especially when, as in this case, it is the first known appearance of the comet;[2] so far C/2009 R1 is proving to be brighter than expected, so much so that Sky and Telescope retitled an online article from "Faint Comet in the June dawn" to "Comet in the June dawn".[9] C/2009 R1 is expected to eventually reach a brightness as high as magnitude 2 from June 30 to July 2, 2010,[6] the latter date marking perihelion; however, as it brightens, its proximity to the sun will make it difficult to see, and it is likely to only be visible near the horizon at dawn and dusk.[3] The exception to this will be the total solar eclipse on July 11 in the Southern Hemisphere (visible in the South Pacific, touching land at Mangaia, Easter Island, and far southern Chile and Argentina[10]), which will allow the comet to be seen during the day. The comet is notable for its "impressive green coma and long ion tail", which spanned 5 degrees as of June 6, 2010,[5] and its appearance has been likened to an "apple on a stick."[4]
References
- ^ a b c d "C/2009 R1 (McNaught)". International Astronomical Union Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
- ^ a b "Comet in the June dawn". Sky and Telescope. New Track Media. 2010-06-09. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
- ^ a b c d "C/2009 R1 (McNaught)". Retrieved 2010-06-08.
- ^ a b c d Rao, Joe (2010-06-08). "New Comet Visible in Early Morning Sky". Retrieved 2010-06-09.
{{cite web}}: Text "publisherSpace.com" ignored (help) - ^ a b "Comet McNaught Becoming Visible to the Unaided Eye". Astronomy Picture of the Day. NASA. Retrieved 2010-06-08.
- ^ a b "C/2009 R1 ( McNaught )". Multitudinous Image-based Sky-survey and Accumulative Observations. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
- ^ Bakich, Michael (2010-06-04). "A comet flies through June's sky". Astronomy Magazine. Kalbach Publishing. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
- ^ "New space 'eye-candy' to appear in skies in mid-June". RIA Novosti. 2010-06-08. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
- ^ Google cache of the original article; updated and retitled article
- ^ "Total Solar Eclipse of 2010 July 11". NASA. Retrieved 2010-06-09.
External links
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Small-Body Database Browser on C/2009 R1
- NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day: June 7, 2010, Comet McNaught Becoming Visible to the Unaided Eye
- Comet C/2009 R1 (McNaught) in Andromeda