Podcaster: Dr. Al Grauer
Title: Travelers in the Night Eps. 795 & 796: Spiral Comet & Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)
Organization: Travelers in The Night
Link : Travelers in the Night ; @Nmcanopus
Description: Today’s two stories:
- 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.
Bio: Dr. Al Grauer is currently an observing member of the Catalina Sky Survey Team at the University of Arizona. This group has discovered nearly half of the Earth approaching objects known to exist. He received a PhD in Physics in 1971 and has been an observational Astronomer for 43 years. He retired as a University Professor after 39 years of interacting with students. He has conducted research projects using telescopes in Arizona, Chile, Australia, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Georgia with funding from NSF and NASA.
He is noted as Co-discoverer of comet P/2010 TO20 Linear-Grauer, Discoverer of comet C/2009 U5 Grauer and has asteroid 18871 Grauer named for him.
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Transcript:
Ep 795- Spiral Comet
It’s the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast, coming in 3, 2, 1. Comma 12P Ponce-Brookes comes near the Sun once every 71 years. It was discovered in 1812 by Jean-Louis Ponce at Marseille, France, and then rediscovered by American astronomer William Robert Brooks in 1883.
Using these sightings, astronomers were able to show it to be the same comet recorded by Chinese observers in 1385, and then again by Italian astronomer Paolo del Pozo Toscalini in 1457. During the most recent past opportunity to view comet 12P Ponce-Brookes in 1954, photographic film was the only available media. During its 2024 passage through the inner solar system, this comet was imaged with sensitive electronic cameras with wide dynamic ranges by observers around the world.
Most of these cameras were programmed to record changes in comet 12P Ponce-Brookes’ beautiful, ever-changing, faint tail, resulting in images in which the comet’s nucleus was completely overexposed, rendering its internal structure invisible. Alternately, Norwegian astronomer Jan Erik Velestad used image processing techniques to view both the very bright and the dimmer regions of the comet’s nucleus simultaneously. To his surprise, this comet’s nucleus has spiral arms extending from a 21-mile diameter central core which rotates once every 57 hours.
Jan Erik’s results were rapidly verified by other observers. It appears likely that the comet’s core has tiny volcanoes which spew gas and dust as the nucleus is warmed by the Sun. These jets of gas then produce a spiral structure not unlike water jets from a lawn sprinkler.
For Travelers in the Night, this is Dr. Al Grauer. Stay tuned.
Ep 796- Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś)
In October of 2006, an object crossed Pluto’s orbit on its way for an encounter with our Sun.
On the 3rd of March of 2024, while asteroid hunting with our 60-inch telescope on Mt. Lemon, Arizona, my Catalina Sky Survey teammate, Casper Vierskos, discovered it moving through the constellation of Draco. Casper’s report that this object was an unknown comet with a condensed 4-arc-second coma and a straight 6-arc-second tail was soon verified by telescopes in Arizona, New Mexico, and Tenerife.
Additional observations allowed astronomers at the Minor Planet Center to calculate a preliminary orbit, estimate its size, and give it the name C 2024 Vierskos. Scientists were surprised to learn that Casper’s comet at discovery was between the orbits of Saturn and Jupiter some 8 times the Earth-Sun distance from us. The fact it was so bright so far away and its apparent brightness at that distance indicates that C 2024 E1 Vierskos is a relatively large cometary object.
Since we don’t know Casper’s comet’s chemical composition, it is impossible to accurately predict how bright it will be as it crosses the Earth’s orbit December 12th of 2025, rounds the Sun January 20th of 2026, and crosses our orbit again February 27th of 2026. On his website, Seiichi Yoshida predicts it may reach maximum brightness around January 1st of 2026 and be at best for viewers in the Southern Hemisphere. It is likely that C 2024 E1 Vierskos originated in truly deep space.
It will once again cross Pluto’s orbit in April of 2045 and from there wander the Milky Way till the end of time. For Travelers in the Night, this is Dr. Al Grauer. Stay tuned.
End of podcast:
365 Days of Astronomy
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