Travelers in the Night Eps. 795 & 796: Spiral Comet & Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)

Dr. Al Grauer hosts. Dr. Albert D. Grauer ( @Nmcanopus ) is an
observational asteroid hunting astronomer. Dr. Grauer retired
from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2006.
travelersinthenight.org


From May, 2024.


Today's 2 topics:


- Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks comes near the Sun once every 71 years.
 It was discovered in 1812 by Jean Louis Pons at Marseilles,
France and then rediscovered by American Astronomer William
Robert Brooks in 1883. Electronic cameras reveal this comet's
nucleus has jets of gas that produce a spiral structure not
unlike water jets from a lawn sprinkler.


- On the 3rd of March 2024 while asteroid hunting with our 60
inch telescope on Mt. Lemmon , Arizona my Catalina Sky Survey
teammate Kacper Wierzchoś discovered a comet moving through the
constellation of Draco.Since we don’t know Kacper’s comet’s
chemical composition it is impossible to accurately predict how.
bright it will be as it crosses the  Earth’s orbit December
12, 2025, rounds the sun January 20, 2026, and crosses our orbit
again February 27, 2026.


 


We've added a new way to donate to 365 Days of Astronomy to
support editing, hosting, and production costs. 


Just visit: https://www.patreon.com/365DaysOfAstronomy and donate
as much as you can!


Share the podcast with your friends and send the Patreon link to
them too! 


Every bit helps! Thank you!


------------------------------------


Do go visit http://www.redbubble.com/people/CosmoQuestX/shop for
cool Astronomy Cast and CosmoQuest t-shirts, coffee mugs and
other awesomeness!


http://cosmoquest.org/Donate This show is made possible through
your donations. 


Thank you! (Haven't donated? It's not too late! Just click!)


------------------------------------


The 365 Days of Astronomy Podcast is produced by the Planetary
Science Institute. http://www.psi.edu


Visit us on the web at 365DaysOfAstronomy.org or email us at
info@365DaysOfAstronomy.org.