Cindy and I went comet watching last night. It’s been a while since we’ve done that. I was vaguely aware of the comet but didn’t think it was bright enough to see just yet. Then Archie Rickertsen sent me photos of the comet. His pictures were great! I had to go out myself.

The first comet that I took a photograph of was Halley’s Comet in 1986. It was springtime and I was on a two-week field trip to the desert of the southwest. I got up at 1:00 a.m. to set up my camera and take the picture. It wasn’t very bright. In 1910 it was so bright you could see it in the daylight and the predictions are that in 2061 it will be as bright as our brightest stars. I won’t live that long but then, I won’t live long enough to see Comet Tsuchinshon-ATLAS, the comet we viewed last night again either. It will be 80,000 years before it comes back.

That’s kind of the story about all the comets I’ve seen. Fast forward 10 years after my taking pictures in the desert and Comet Hyakutake showed up. Some consider it to be the best Northern Hemisphere comet of the last 100 years. It was bright, but quick. Astronomers had been preparing us for the arrival of comet Hale-Bopp and everyone was excited to see it and then, almost out of nowhere, here came Hyakutake. It won’t come back for 70,000 years.

I remember going north of town to take photos of Hyakutake and there was Sheila Jobman with her camera set up. We talked and photographed the comet for the next few days. The comet was shortlived, but we had Hale-Bopp coming up! Many comets don’t live up to the hype in the media; Hale-Bopp did! Once again I headed north of town and once again Sheila was already there. This comet was so bright you could see it in the daylight! It won’t be back for 2,300 years! Halley’s Comet, by comparison, comes back all the time.

Halley’s Comet made one trip back in 1301 when it inspired Giotto di Bondone to paint “The Adoration of the Magi”, and for the first time, show the Star of Bethlehem as a comet. Two hundred and thirty-five years prior to that, what we now know was Halley’s Comet, came around and some say it had an impact on England’s history. All kinds of omens, both good and bad, were associated with a comet. King Harold II, an Anglo-Saxon King saw Halley’s Comet as a bad omen. Duke William of Normandy saw the same comet and viewed it as a positive omen. William, believing in the positive sign from heaven, invaded England and defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings. There is a tapestry in Bayeux, Normandy France depicting the battle and it shows Halley’s Comet in the sky.

Of course, the comet wasn’t named Halley’s Comet until 1758. Edmond Halley was able to calculate the orbit of the comet using Newton’s laws of motion and Kepler’s laws of orbits. He correctly predicted its return in 1758. In honor of his figuring out its orbit, it was named for him. The next time it will come by is 2061. As I said, it’s doubtful I’ll be here 37 years from now, but I did get to see Comet Tsuchinshon-ATLAS, also known as C/2023 A3, or just A3 last night.

You would be very surprised at the shear number of comets that have been seen and named. However, most, maybe more than 90%, never get bright enough to see without a telescope so A3, while not spectacular compared to Hal-Bopp, is still amazing, and it is the brightest it's been in 80,000 years! Look due west about 8:00 p.m. for a fuzzy patch in the sky. Use binoculars for a great view!