Richard Wainscoat http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/users/rjw Richard Wainscoat's website Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:43:25 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) will be brightest around March 11, 2013 http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/users/rjw/?p=9 http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/users/rjw/?p=9#comments Mon, 11 Jul 2011 20:53:35 +0000 admin http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/users/rjw/?p=9 With about a month of astrometry now in hand, the orbital solutions are converging on a perihelion date close to March 11, 2013, and perihelion distance of close to 0.3 AU.

How bright Comet C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS) will be is still very much unknown, and we may not know for more than a year how bright it will eventually be.  The ephemeris from the JPL Horizons website has a predicted peak magnitude of -0.5, and the Minor Planet Center predicts a peak magnitude of 0.6.  When the comet is brightest, it will likely be low in the west after sunset, about 10 degrees above the horizon at 7pm seen from Hawaii.

]]> http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/users/rjw/?feed=rss2&p=9 0 Recommended Software and Websites http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/users/rjw/?p=4 http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/users/rjw/?p=4#comments Wed, 12 Jan 2011 02:52:01 +0000 admin http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/users/rjw/?p=4 Planetarium software for PC and Mac

Stellarium (free)

Starry Night (various versions, $25 and upwards)

iPad and iPhone

Star Walk ($2.99)

IridiumFlares ($1.99)

Websites

Heavens Above – good for prediction of satellite passes and iridium flares – make sure that you set your location carefully

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