(SNES) Shuttle Launch / Comet Linear

[Albireo54@aol.com]

Hi Everyone,

Les reported this morning:

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My parents and sister now live about 40 miles north of Tampa, approx. 100 
miles west of Cape Canaveral, and have seen a number of shuttles go up - 
including yesterday's. It hadn't occurred to me that we might catch a glimpse 
of a shuttle launch from our neck of the woods - roughly 1100 miles from the 
Cape. But when you do the trigonometry you see that the shuttle quickly 
climbs high enough to clear our horizon by 5 to 10 degrees - it's certainly 
bright enough, especially after sunset.
I'll have to try again someday when weather conditions are more favorable. 
One thing I noticed that I'll have to remember is that Cape Canaveral is 
markedly southwest from New England, although the shuttle heads eastward VERY 
quickly!

If it's clear tomorrow around sunset you'll be able to see the shuttle and 
space station go over a couple of minutes before 6 PM - about 1/3 of the way 
up the sky to the NW. I plan to be at FDO by that time if the weather is 
promising.

Today's "Astronomy Picture of the Day" is a great shot of Comet Linear taken 
just two days ago. It shows a very distinct tail forming - something we'll 
have to look for tomorrow night at FDO just after darkness falls. The comet 
made its closest approach to Earth on Monday (29 million miles) and is now 
speeding toward the sun. Perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) will occur 
on January 23, at a distance of 55 million miles. It will swing around 
through southern hemisphere skies and reappear in our morning skies by early 
March, in Sagittarius, still faintly visible in binoculars. From then on it 
will swing upward through the summer Milky Way and we'll be able to watch its 
retreat from FDO until late spring. I haven't been able to locate the period 
of this comet, but it is believed to be "asteroidal" - not from the distant 
Oort cloud, and therefor perhaps a recurring (though infrequent) visitor.  

Hope to see many of you tomorrow!
:o)
Doug Stewart
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