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Norfolk is one of the few locations in the country
where really dark skies can be enjoyed and this is the best place
to see a comet.
A 'naked eye' comet will appear in the skies between
Tuesday 4 and 8 January, 2005. It's called a 'naked eye' comet because
it can be seen without the use of a telescope.
The comet, which was discovered by amateur astronomer
Don Machholz during 2004, is now high in our skies and getting brighter.
Strange fuzzy blob
Hale Bopp comet over Stonehenge |
Officially named C/2004 Q2, it
shines like a strange fuzzy blob in the constellation of Taurus,
close to the well known star cluster, the Seven Sisters.
At this point, the comet will be at its closest
to the Earth at around 51 million km and shining at magnitude 4.
This is a measure of how bright it will be, where
on the same scale, the faintest star visible is magnitude 6 and
the bright star Sirius is about magnitude 1.
Many of you in Norfolk will remember comet Hyakutake
and comet Hale-Bopp and whilst Machholz is not likely to become
as spectacular as Hale-bopp, it may get close to the brightness
of Hyakutake.
The comet can be seen from any of the observatories
in Norfolk. Click on the weblinks on the top of this page for further
details. Click here to find out how to see the
comet from your garden.
60th anniversary
The appearance of the comet in the skies over Norfolk
coincides with the start of the Norwich Astronomical Society's 60th
anniversary year.
The society first started in 1945 in Daniels Road,
Norwich and is now based at the observatory in Seething.
To celebrate the society's anniversary, a year
of special events is planned including a lecture by Professor Colin
Pillinger (from the ill-fated Beagle II mission).
Close-up of comet Hale Bopp |
There will be a lecture day at the John Innes Centre
and opportunities to see the stars at the observatory at Seething.
One of reasons behind the anniversary celebrations
is to encourage more people to take up astronomy.
The first event held in January is a public open
evening celebrating our closest neighbour in space, the Moon.
You will be able to see close-ups of the craters
and mountains on the Moon and even see the area where the Apollo
astronauts landed.
How to see the comet
The comet is pretty easy to find from anywhere
in the Northern Hemisphere.
A guide to where you can see comet Machholz
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To find it, follow these simple steps:
- Find a nice dark location away from city lights.
- Turn to face the south (if you can find the
Plough or Big Dipper, then face the opposite direction to it).
- Identify the large constellation called Orion
and follow its three star belt to the upper right.
- This will take you to a faint cluster of stars
called the Seven Sisters or Pleiades.
- The comet will be moving so check out the
map below to see where it is.
For more information about the 60th anniversary
events, please contact society Secretary David Balcombe on 01953
602624. Use the links on the top of this page to contact the observatory
nearest to you.
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