Comet McNaught passing over

Pioneer Peak

Jan. 12, 2007

By Sharon G. McBride

Frontiersman

MAT-SU - The brightest comet in 30 years made its Alaska debut this past week, and if the skies clear, stargazers can look for Comet McNaught over Pioneer Peak.

&#8220The best time to look for it will be about 6 to 6:30 p.m.,” said Tim Lundt, a science teacher at Burchell High School. &#8220It will look like a jet stream.”

But upon closer inspection, he said, it should look like a bright ball with a prominent tail.

Comets glow and produce a tail when exposed to the sun's radiation. Comets are made up of rock, dust and ice, Lundt said, and when they get close to the sun, they start to melt.

The comet is predicted to be its brightest tonight because that's when it will make its closest approach to the sun. It's scheduled to come within 15.8 million miles of the sun, less than half the distance of Mercury to the sun.

What we see on Earth is the end result of the melting as the comet moves in its orbit. The tail of the comet is called the coma, and is composed of gas and dust streams. This particular comet is expected to be 40 times brighter than Venus.

&#8220So it will definitely be visible to the naked eye,” Lundt said.

A set of binoculars or a spotting scope can be helpful to view it, he said, &#8220but I wouldn't use a telescope. You just won't be able to see the whole comet.”

Comet McNaught already is brighter than Comet Hale-Bopp, which was visible in the northwest for weeks in 1997. Lately, however, the Alaska weather just hasn't been cooperating for viewing. Even a bright comet can be obliterated by clouds, haze, humid air, smoke or city lights, Lundt said. Interested people should try to catch it before Monday, because it's

expected to lose some of its intensity as it moves farther from the sun.

The National Weather Service forecasts cloudy skies with a chance of snow tonight. Tomorrow's forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies with a chance of snow showers. Sunday is supposed to be sunny, however, with clouds gathering as the sun goes down. Monday weather calls for mostly cloudy skies with a chance of snow.

For comet watchers, Sunday night's weather might be the best shot to get a gander at the cosmic traveler.

It's a relatively new comet, only recently discovered last year by Australian astronomer Robert McNaught, for whom it was named.

Comets weren't always seen as good thing. In 1910, people panicked when a comet passed, and purchased all kinds of gadgets to protect themselves, according to a few astronomical Web sites. Some thought it was the end of the world and killed themselves. Some even sealed themselves up in their homes to protect themselves from the &#8220poisonous” tail.

Not everyone thought comets were bad luck, though. Some believed they were signs from God, and were vehicles that carried angels to heaven.

But whatever your beliefs, if you face south-southwest and to the right of Pioneer Peak, you might see it.

&#8220Comets are cool, because you only see a few in a lifetime,” Lundt said. &#8220And hopefully, Comet McNaught won't get sucked in by the sun and disappear. Right now, it isn't clear what orbit it is on.”

If McNaught survives its perilous journey toward the sun, future generations will be able to view it in a few hundred years.

Contact Sharon G. McBride at 352-2262.