Telescopic comet images offer a hint of this by showing jets and other structures in the coma.
Admit it: you've imagined that someday you'll chance upon an undiscovered
telescopic comet and have your name forever attached to it.
I'm using the techniques of a deep-sky observer, but this is no deep-sky object--it's a faint telescopic comet. In a few days I'll repeat the process, tracking the comet in a new star field, perhaps next to a familiar star cluster or galaxy.
But before you run out and look for a challenging telescopic comet, be warned that chasing one requires some specialized knowledge.
With the right information in hand, telescopic comet chasing isn't difficult.
Knowing the locations of telescopic comets is essential, but in practice, that may not be enough.
In the predawn hours of September 18th Japanese amateurs, Kaoru Ikeya and Tsutomu Seki independently spotted a new
telescopic comet low in the southeast.
THIS WINTER a moderately bright
telescopic comet -- possibly visible in binoculars too -- remains near the zenith after nightfall for months on end.
The prize, instituted in 1831 by the Danish king Frederick VI, was for all discoveries of new
telescopic comets. Mitchell joined the ranks of a dozen other distinguished gold medalists around the world, including the preeminent Johann Gottfried Galle at Berlin Observatory.
MOST
TELESCOPIC comets are vague, insubstantial glows with little or no visible sign of a nucleus.
As the new year opens, several
telescopic comets will be plying the frosty evening skies.