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(meteorobs) Mr. Alan Hale and His Comet
-- [ From: Robert Lunsford * EMC.Ver #2.5.1 ] --
Expanded recipient data:
To: Penny Orell \ PRODIGY: (GYLK34B)
To: Tom Hickcox \ PRODIGY: (JJLN99A)
I had the pleasure to observe comet Hale-Bopp with one of the co-
discoverers, Mr. Alan Hale this morning from Alpine, California. Mr.
Hale drove all the way from his home in New Mexico to lecture at the
local planetarium. After spending Tuesday and Wednesday with relatives
in San Diego, he was getting an early start on the drive home but wanted
to also take advantage of the clear skies to observe the comet.
How did I get involved? Well Alan and I have been good friends and
observing buddies since the early 80's when he lived in San Diego. He
called me Tuesday and wanted to get together but his agenda was full. He
suggested that we observe together on Thursday morning after his
schedule was complete. He was suppose to call me Wednesday evening to
verify our plans but the call never came. Knowing Alan was very busy I
took the chance and drove out to the Alpine Viewpoint early Thursday
morning. Even if he was a no-show, I always had the comet to look at.
I arrived shortly after 5am and sure enough he was there and the comet
looked magnificent. We both estimated the magnitude at +1.8 with a 2
degree naked eye tail. In binoculars, the tail extended beyond the 4 1/2
degree field. Through Alan's 8" telescope, the comet had a magnificent
jet on one side of the nucleus producing a bright fountain of material
streaming forward, then arcing back to form the brightest portion of the
tail. The detail in the inner coma was superb. Through the telescope the
color of the nucleus and surrounding area appeared a chalky gray-white
with the slightest hint of yellow.
The comet was followed easily throughout twilight to within a half hour
of sunrise. After the comet was dimmed by twilight, we spent a good 1/2
hour to 45 minutes reminiscing and discussing how Alan's life has
changed since his discovery. While chatting we scanned the southeast
horizon for any signs of the moon, 24 hours before new. We came across a
bright object which turned out to be Mercury. No phase was seen through
the scope, it appeared as a full disk which makes sense since it was
approaching superior conjunction. Some 15-20 minutes later the moon
appeared and was easily seen without optical aid. The biggest challenge
of the morning was trying to spot the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus.
I noticed on my Redshift computer program that they were close, but also
very close to the sun. It must have been our lucky morning as the
brightening sky became critical, Jupiter was spotted peeking over the
horizon. Hardly a minute later Venus peeked over the hill and both
objects (including the horizon) were seen in the same field of view
through Alan's scope.
To top off the morning, Alan had an extra copy of his new book and was
kind enough to give me an autographed copy and showed me the meteor
photograph of mine he included in the book. It was a great morning and I
look forward to seeing Alan again at the ALPO convention in Las Cruces,
New Mexico, in June.
Bob Lunsford