Here is a limited list of resources to help you pursue your study of comets and the techniques and equipment necessary to observe them. By making use of your local library, browsing publishers catalogues and the adverts for equipment suppliers, perusing astronomical magazines and periodicals and, above all, by surfing the Internet while making use of a search engine such as Google.com, you can uncover plenty more!

Books Advanced Amateur Astronomy, Gerald North, Cambridge

University Press, 1997. Astronomical Equipment for Amateurs, Martin Mobberley,

Springer-Verlag, 1999. CCD Astronomy: Construction and use of a CCD camera,

Christian Buil, Willmann-Bell, 1991. The Art and Science of CCD Astronomy, edited by David

Ratledge, Springer-Verlag, 1997. Introduction to Comets, J.C. Brandt and Robert C. Chapman,

Cambridge University Press, 1983. Comets, Meteors and Asteroids, John Man, BBC Consumer

Publishing, 2001. Comet Science, Therese Encrenaz, Cambridge University

Press, 2000. Great Comets, Robert Burnham, Cambridge University Press,

2000. Comets: Creators and Destroyers, David Levy, Touchstone

Books, 1998. The Comet Hale-Bopp, Robert Burnham, Cambridge Uni­

versity Press, 1997.

2

30

Publications of astronomical organizations

(contact web addresses given further on)

ICQ Guide to Observing Comets, edited by Dan Green. BAA Comet Section Observing Guide, edited by Jonathan

Shanklin.

Software Image processing programs

Astroart Mira AIPWIN Maxim DL IRIS Starlink IRAF

http://www.msb-astroart.com/down en.htm http://www.axres.com/ http://www. willbell.com/aip4win/ AlP .htm http://www.cyanogen.com http:// astrosurf.com/buil/us/iris/iris.htm http://star-www.rl.ac.uk! http://iraf.noao.edu/iraf-homepage.html

Observation planning

Guide Grafdark

JPL horizons Heavens above Observable comets

The Sky

http://www.projectpluto.com http://www.naas.btinternet.co.uk! grafdark.htm http:// ssd. jpl.nasa.gov/horizons.html http://www.heavens-above.com http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/ Ephemerides/Comets/index.html http://www.bisque.com/Products/ TheSky/TheSky.asp

Orbit computation and integration

Mercury Orbfit N-body integrators

http:// star.arm.ac. uk! -jec/home.html http://newton.dm. unipi.it/ orbfit http://www.scitec.auckland.ac.nz/- sharp/ n-body integrators/

Miscellaneous

MPEG encoders http://bmrc.berkeley.edu/frame/ research/mpeglmpeg__encode.html http://www.mpeg.org

Observing Comets

Appendix 231

NTP time clients http://www.astrosurf.com/astropc/ timememo/ http:/ /www.ntp.org

CCD cameras Commercial cameras

Starlight XPress SBIG Apogee

http:/ /www.starlight -xpress.co.uk/ http:/ /www.sbig.com http:/ /www.apogee-ccd.com/

Do-it-yourself cameras

Au dine Cookbook

http://astrosurf.com/audine/ http:/ /www.wvi.com/ -rberry/ cookbook.htm

Spectroscopy

Buil

Spectr'aude

Maurice Gavin

http://astrosurf.com/buil/us/spel/ spectro l.htm http:/ I astrosurf.com/buil/us/ spectro8/ spaude us.htm http:/ /www.astroman.fsnet.co. uk! spectro.htm

Comet information

Catalog of cometary orbits SOHO discoveries

CBAT computer service

http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/services/ CCat.html http://www. ph. u-net.com/ comets/ comet-links.htm http:/ I cfa-www .harvard.edu/iau/ services/ CS.html

Astronomical alert services

lAU circulars http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/iau/services/ Subscriptions.html

TA circulars http://www.theastronomer.org/ subscription.html

Sky and Telescope http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/ proamcollab/astroalert

232

Useful hardware

Micropositioners http://www.catalog.coherentinc.com

Comet images on the web

Wil Milan

Herman Mikuz Terry Lovejoy

Gerald Rhemann JPL comet page The Astronomer

http://www.astrophotographer.com/ cometphotos.html http://www.fiz.uni -lj.si/ astro/ comets/ http:/ /users.bigpond.net.au/ southern/ southern.htm http:/ /www.astrostudio.at/ defaultiE.htm http:/ /encke.jpl.nasa.gov/ http:/ /www.theastronomer.org/ comets.html

Miscellaneous

Ceravolo video

3D free-fusion

Hypered film

http:/ /www.andromedasoftware.com/ cd240.htm http:/ /www.slc.edu/ -ebj/sight mind/ stereo/free fusion.html http:/ /www.lumicon.com

Astronomical organizations

The Astronomer http://www.theastronomer.org BAA comet section http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/-jds/ ALPO comet http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/-rhill/alpo/ section comet.html German comet sect. http://www.fg-kometen.de/fgk, hpe.htm ICQ http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/icq/icq.html

Observing Comets

Index

achromatic Ramsden eyepiece see eyepieces

Alcock, George 15, 73 anti-tail 28, 30 aphelion, definition of 13 Aquarid meteors 32 Araki, Genichi 15 Arbour, Ron 157 Arend-Roland, comet see comets Aristotle 5-7 Asher, David 131 astrometry 188-192 atmospheric extinction 197-198 Austin, comet see comets

barndoor mount 107-110 Bathers, comet see comets Battle of Hastings 3 Bennett, comet see comets Bessel, Friedrich 31 Biela, comet see comets Biela, Wilhelm von 30-32 Bielid meteors 31 binoculars 43, 61-64 Blasich, P. 198 Bobrovnikoff method 80-82 Bopp, Thomas 215 Borrelly, comet see comets Bradfield, comet see comets Bradfield, William 15 Brahe, Tycho 7-9 brightness estimates 80-82 Brorsen-Metcalf, comet see comets Buczynski, Denis 103, 141, 222, 223 Buil, Christian 175, 191, 196 Bullen, Robert 20-22, 75 Burnham, comet see comets

calibration frames 161 Carter, Brian 36 CCDs 65, 96-107, 145-148,

153-167, 187, 213-215, 224 Ceravolo, Peter 117-118 Charge-Coupled Devices see CCDs Charon 129 coma (optical aberration) 57-58,

148 comet orbits 8-14, 41, 120-132,

206-207, 215-217 cometary chemistry, introduction

to 24-25, 28 cometary coma, introduction to 18,

19, 22-25, 71-72, 78

cometary debris 29-36 cometary false nucleus,

introduction to 20, 22-25, 72 cometary head, introduction to 2,

18, 19, 71, 80 cometary jets, introduction to

19-22, 72 cometary nucleus, introduction

to 19-22, 71-72 cometary shells, introduction

to 19-22, 72 cometary tails, introduction to 2,

18, 19, 25-28, 78, 80 comets -IP/Halley 9-10,12, 13, 16, 32,

36-39, 121, 122 -2P/Encke 15, 16 -3D/Biela 30-32 -9P/Tempel I 225 -19P/Borrelly 39-40 -21P/Giacobini-Zinner 37 -23P/Brorson-Metcalf 5 -29P/Schwassman-Wachmann I

198, 224 -46P/Wirtanen 225, 226 -SIP/Harrington 199 -SSP/Temple-Tuttle 32, 128, 129,

130 -81P/Wild 2 225 -96P/Machholz 142 -109P/Swift-Tuttle 9 -122P/deVico 103, 153 -C/1956 Rl Arend-Roland 2, 29,

149 -C/1959 Yl Burnham 3 -C/1969 T1 Tago-Sato-Kosaka 28 -C/1969 Yl Bennett 4, 14, 16, 28 -C/1983 H1 IRAS-Araki-Alcock

14, 16, 110-111 -C/1987 P1 Bradfield 6, 15, 16, 110 -C/1989 XI Austin 7 -C/1990 K1 Levy 8 -C/1995 01 Hale-Bopp 4, 16,

20-22, 27, 36, 66, 75-77, 80, 93, 117, 145, 151, 152, 169, 170-172, 183, 205, 215-225

-C/1995 Y1 Hyakutake 206 -C/1996 B2 Hyakutake 10-11, 16,

27, 36, 66, 80, 90, 95, 105, 106, 108, 112, 115, 116, 138, 184-185, 205-215

-C/1999 S4 LINEAR 137, 140, 195, 199

-C/2000 W1 Utsonomiya-)ones 202

-C/2000 WM1 LINEAR 156, 177-180, 182, 183-184

-C/2001 A2 LINEAR 150, 165-166, 191, 196, 201

-C/2001 Q2 Petriew 202 -C/2002 W2 Bathers 141 -C/2002 C1 Ikeya-Zhang 136 -D/1993 F2 Shoemaker-Levy-9

32-33 computers 119-143

Dahlmark, Lennart 152 dark frame 104, 162-163 DC number see Degree of

Condensation Deep Space probe 39, 40 Degree of Condensation (DC)

77-78, 79 de-rotators 107 detector quantum efficiency (DQE)

see quantum efficiency de Vico, comet see comets discovering/reporting comets

201-203 drawing techniques 71-74

Edgeworth, Kenneth 128 Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt Objects

see Trans-Neptunian Objects Encke, comet see comets epoch, definition of 126 exit pupil 47, 52, 57, 61-62 eyepieces 47, 48, 49, 50, 52, 55, 56,

59-61, 62, 67 eye relief 47 eye ring see exit pupil

finder charts 69-71,164-166 flat field 161-162 Fleet, Richard 13 7 formation of Solar System full-well capacity 159

Garradd, Gordon 224 Giacobini-Zinner, comet see

comets Giotto probe 36-39 Great Fire of London 4 Great Plague of London 3-4 Goldsmith, Steve 163

34

Hale, Alan 215 Hale-Bopp, comet see comets Halley, comet see comets Halley, Edmond 9 Harrington, comet see comets Hendrie, M. J, 3, 4 Hook, Richard 199 Hubble Guide Star Catalogue 189 Hubble Space Telescope 33 Hyakutake, comet see comets Hyakutake, Yugi 16, 205-206, 214 hydrogen cloud 28-29 hypersensitisation 103-104

lkeya-Zhang, comet see comets image file formats, introduction

to 172-174 image processing 169-186 image-scale, formula for 55, 93 image-stabilised binoculars 64 impact of comets on Earth I,

34-36, 220, 226 impact of comets on jupiter 32-34 Infrared Astronomical Satellite

(1RAS) 14 International Cometary Explorer

probe (ICE) 37 IRAS see Infrared Astronomical

Satellite IRAS-Araki-Alcock, comet see

comets

jones, Albert 202 jovian comet family 31 jupiter 31, 32- 34 Jupiter, comet impact on see

impacts of comets on Jupiter

Keller, Dr H. U. 38 Kellner eyepieces see eyepieces Kepler, johannes 8 Kepler's Laws of Planetary

Motion 8, 11- 13, 22, 120, 123 Kinetic Theory of Gases 23- 24,

29 Kreutz family comets 129-130 Kuiper Belt Objects see

Trans-Neptunian Objects

Leonid meteors 32, 130 Levy, comet see comets Levy, David 32 LINEAR, comet see comets long period comets, definition of

14

Machholz, comet see comets magnification 43, 45-52, SS-56,

59-61, 62-64 magnitude, telescopic limiting

45-46 Marsh, Glyn 106, 116, 211, 222,

223 McNaught, Rob 131, 216 Messier, Charles 31 Mikuz, Herman 95, 112 Milan, Wil ISO Mobberley, Martin 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 106,

III, 116, lSI, 211 Moore, Stewart 90

Nagler eyepieces see eyepieces Newton, Isaac 8 Newton's Law of Gravitation 8, 9,

10, 120 nomenclature, cometary 14-16, 18

offset guiding 156-158 Oort cloud 40, 127, 128 orbits see comet orbits Orbiting Astronomical Observatory

(OA0-2) 28 Orthoscopic eyepieces see eyepieces osculating elements, definition

of 126

Palitzch, johann 10 Panoptic eyepieces see eyepieces Petriew, comet see comets Petriew, Vance 202 perihelion, definition of 13 periodic comets, definition of 13 photography 17, 89-97, 101-105,

147-152 photometry, cometary 192-199 plate constants 188 Platt, Terry 156, 215, 220 Plossyl eyepieces see eyepieces Pluto 41, 129 position angles 82- 87, 157

quantum efficiency 99, 100

Radian eyepieces see eyepieces Ramsden disc see exit pupil reference stars 188 reticle eyepiece 84-86, 156-157 rich-field telescopes 52- 59 Ridley, H. B. 3 Rosetta probe 225, 226

Observing Comets

Sakigake probe 37 Schaefer, Bradley E. 45-46 Schwassman-Wachmann-1, comet

see comets Sekanina, Zdenek 218 Shanklin, jonathan 142 Shoemaker, Caroline 32 Shoemaker, Eugene 32 Shoemaker-Levy-9, comet see

comets SOHO probe and comets 141-143,

212,214 Sostero, G. 198 spectroscopy 17-18, 199-201,

211-212 Stardust probe 225 star-hopping 67, 69-71 Super Wide Angle eyepieces see

eyepieces Sungrazer comets 123 Swift-Tuttle, comet see comets synchrone 222 synchronic bands 221-222 syndyne 222

Tago-Sato-Kosaka, comet see comets

telescopes 43-61 , 145, 147-158 Temple-Tuttle, comet see comets Trans-Neptunian Objects

(TNOs) 41, 128 Tunguska impact 34-36 Tycho see Brahe, Tycho

Ultra Wide Angle eyepieces see eyepieces

Universal Law of Gravitation see Newton's Law of Gravitation

unsharp mask 170 Uraniborg 7-9 Utsunomiya-jones, comet see

comets Utsunomiya, Syogo 202

Vega I probe 37 Vega 2 probe 37 vignetting 58, 106

Waterfield, R.L. 2, 4, 29, 149 Wild-2, comet see comets Wirtanen, comet see comets

Zanotta, Mauro 221

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The Accompanying CD-ROM

The accompanying CD-ROM is compatible with a wide range of computers and all of the data on this disk can be accessed using your favourite web browser. The pages are designed to use a very basic form of HTML which should be supported by practically every browser and operating system. The disk itself is mastered using the ISO 9660 level 2 filesystem since this is universally supported by those operating system which support CD-ROM drives. To start simply click on the index.html file in the root directory of your CD-ROM drive.

Each page on the disk contains a contents list in the blue bar to the left of the screen. The links in this contents list lead to various key information sources on the disk. The main text also includes links which will take you to other areas of the disk. Some of the links take you to remote sites on the Internet and so you will need a Net connection for these. The contents of the disk are as follows:

• Resources - A copy of appendix 1 with clickable links.

• Reporting - How to format and report your observations.

• A collection of CCD and negative scans in FITS format. These can be used to practice your image

~ processing skills.

• A number of programs. These are a program for generating comet ephemerides, a set of programs for performing orbit integration and a command-line image processing utility.

• Finally a comet gallery containing descriptions and images of Hale-Bopp, Hyakutake and many other comets. This gallery also contains some movies and some orbit diagrams showing how comets move in space.