Hi Nick(Evetts) too many

Forums Comets C/2020 F8 (SWAN) Hi Nick(Evetts) too many

#582406
Denis Buczynski
Participant

Hi Nick(Evetts) too many Nicks around the the Comet Section, better to have a distinctive name.Your excellent image of C/2020F8 is in the BAA Comet Archive at this link:

https://britastro.org/cometobs/2020f8/2020f8_20200501_nevetts.jpg

Let us hope that the weather cooperates as the comet climbs higher into northern skies. It would be good if the comet had an outburst of dust to help visibilty, at present it is a gassy comet which means low contrast in bright skies. I am not sure about any effect of forward scattering in the comet/ earth/ sun geometry, perhaps there will be some enhancement due to that effect. I hope we don’t get lots of “I was dissapointed with this comet” comments like we have had with C/2019Y4. OK this comet has not (as yet) lived up to the show that its 1844 counterpart put on but the chance for us to watch the slow crumbling of this comet as it approaches perihelion has been fascinating and my thoughts about observing this series of events have been anything but a feeling of disapointment. Even now after the fragmentation events of April the comet is slowly brightening again. Keep watching is my advice, don’t take you eye off the ball that is C/2019Y4 ATLAS!