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Main
Date: 25 Oct 2006 12:41:06
From: G
Subject: Comet Swan getting closer?
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So is the comet getting closer to the sun and further from Earth?
Or is it getting closer to us and the sun?
Or is it moving away from the sun and getting closer to Earth?
So which one is it?
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G.
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Date: 25 Oct 2006 12:24:46
From: Greg Crinklaw
Subject: Re: Comet Swan getting closer?
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G wrote:
> So is the comet getting closer to the sun and further from Earth?
> Or is it getting closer to us and the sun?
> Or is it moving away from the sun and getting closer to Earth?
> So which one is it?
None of the above.
It is currently moving away from the Sun (slowly). It's almost 1 AU
now. It is more or less holding it's distance from the earth, also at
about 1 AU.
Soon it will be moving away from both the Sun and the Earth. The reason
it is getting brighter lately is because it has had an outburst: for
some unknown reason it is suddenly expelling larger amounts of gas and
dust. The gas is excited by the sun to glow and the dust reflects
sunlight, so the more of there is the brighter the comet is.
Clear skies,
Greg
--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)
SkyTools: http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html
Observing: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html
Comets: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html
To reply take out your eye
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Date: 26 Oct 2006 14:23:08
From: G
Subject: Re: Comet Swan getting closer?
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Thank you for the info.
But I didn't ask about it getting brighter. I just asked where it was heading.
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Date: 26 Oct 2006 12:27:35
From: Greg Crinklaw
Subject: Re: Comet Swan getting closer?
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G wrote:
> Thank you for the info.
> But I didn't ask about it getting brighter. I just asked where it was heading.
So? I did, after all, answer your question, didn't I? There are other
people reading the response...
--
Greg Crinklaw
Astronomical Software Developer
Cloudcroft, New Mexico, USA (33N, 106W, 2700m)
SkyTools: http://www.skyhound.com/cs.html
Observing: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/skyhound.html
Comets: http://www.skyhound.com/sh/comets.html
To reply take out your eye
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