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Other bright comets are visible in the sky each year but fail to attract the attention of the general population. “Many of these bright comets have not come into view before in recorded history,” said JMU associate professor of physics, Dr. William Ingham.
In 1682, Edmund Halley determined that a comet which appeared that year and others recorded previously in 1456,1531, and 1607 were one in the same.
He surmised that comets orbit the sun just as planets do, but in paths that form very elongated ellipses. Because of the shape of these orbital paths, comets are most often traveling far from the sun, Ingham noted.
Halley predicted the comet’s return 75 years later, which did occur in 1758,17 years after his death.
When the comet passes the sun, the dust and ionized gas from the coma are swept out from the sun by sunlight and solar wind. This action forifll long tails, which are measured in millions of miles, but have extremely low densities.
With each solar passage, a comet loses some of its material, Leap noted. After thousands of passages, all of the ice of Halley’s nucleus will be consumed.
The 1985-86 viewing of Halley’s comet “won’t be as spectacular as other comets which will be seen in our lifetime,” Leap said.
A comet is most easily seen when it is closest to the sun, at which time it has the brightest and longest tail. Halley’s closet approach to the sun will take place on the opposite side of the sun from the Earth, so the tail is pointed away, and viewing is blocked by the sun.
When the comet is closest to the earth (39 million miles), it will appear low in the southern sky, making a good view of the southern horizon necessary for observing the comet.
“We are living in the wrong century and the wrong hemisphere Ingham remarked. The last appearance of Halley’s comet produced a “better than average opportunity” for observation, he said. The comet was brighter in 1910 than in 1985-86 because it passed 24 million miles closer to the earth.
The apparent motion of the comet among the stars is approximately two degrees per day, decreasing as the comet becomes lower in the sky. Leap said this daily angular motion will increase again in the spring. Actual comet speed ranges from 120,000 mph to 200,000 mph.
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