solar
system page Comet Linear C/2001A2 cometary
spectra
Comets Hyakutake & Hale Bopp 1996-7 Linear [C/1999 S4] Linear C/2001 A2+C/2000 WM1[here] C/2002 C1 (Ikeya-Zhang)
2002 June 9:
Comet C/2000 WM1 [Linear] just recorded via 135mm fl lens + MX5c CCD in
Hercules.
2001 Dec 1 - Comet through broken cloud - one frame [Minolta D7 digital still camera] records high orbit satellite as deduced from 5o motion in 30s.
2001 Oct 15 - First
observation of Comet Linear [C/2000 WM1]. Relatively bright with
some structure at ~mag 10 on the Per/Cam/Aug borders with fairly
noncommittal C/2000
WM1 spectra at low resolution [disp= 50A/pixel].
C/2001 A2
2001 July 22/23: It's almost to the year that Comet Linear C/1999 S4 ran along the northern horizon like its predecessors Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp in 1996/7.
This comet is currently well placed after dusk in the southeast in Pegasus and continues to be many magnitudes brighter than initially predicted. It sports a tail at about p.a. 220o [5 o'clock] unusually pointing downwards but still away from the sun which is on the other side of the sky below the northern horizon.
A camera lens plus HX5 CCD used - the comet's motion being obvious over a few minutes. The shot below caught a satellite crossing the field. Lo-res spectra [30cm SCT + Rainbow grating; disp=5nm/pixel] - much as C/1999S4.
text & images copyright Maurice Gavin 2002 reduced 2003 Nov 9