HistoryIce and StoneWeek 19

This Week in History: May 3-9

Ice and Stone 2020: Week 19 Content

MAY 3, 1998: Solar scientist Shane Stezelberger discovers a bright comet traversing the northern field of view of the LASCO C3 coronagraph aboard the SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft. Comet SOHO C/1998 J1, which passed through perihelion five days later at a heliocentric distance of 0.153 AU and then became a naked-eye object visible from the southern hemisphere, is the brightest of the “non-group” comets discovered via the LASCO coronagraphs. 

MAY 4, 2020: Comet PANSTARRS C/2017 T2 will pass through perihelion at a heliocentric distance of 1.615 AU. This comet is currently visible in the northern hemisphere’s evening sky and is bright enough to be detected with binoculars, and is a previous “Comet of the Week.” 

MAY 4, 2020: The Amor-type asteroid (85184) 1991 JG1 will pass 0.150 AU from Earth. It is currently near opposition and close to its expected peak brightness of 15th magnitude. 

MAY 5, 2020: The Eta Aquarid meteor shower, associated with Comet 1P/Halley, is predicted to be at its peak. The shower, best viewed from the southern hemisphere, can produce a peak rate of 35 to 50 meteors per hour. A bright waxing gibbous moon (Full on the 7th) may interfere with viewing the shower this year. 

MAY 6, 2004: Michael Brown and his team obtain their discovery images of the “dwarf planet” now known as (136108) Haumea, although they did not notice it until 7½ months later. Haumea and other “dwarf planets” in the Kuiper Belt are discussed in a future “Special Topics” presentation. 

MAY 6, 2134: Comet 1P/Halley is predicted to pass just 0.096 AU from Earth, the fourth-closest approach it has made to our planet in history, and the closest approach since A.D. 837. At the time of its closest approach it will be located in southern circumpolar skies and perhaps as bright as magnitude -2. Past and future returns of Comet Halley are discussed in a previous “Special Topics” presentation. 

Artist’s concept of Hayabusa at an asteroid.

MAY 9, 2003: JAXA’s Hayabusa mission is launched from the Uchinoura Space Center on the island of Kyushu, Japan. Hayabusa traveled to the near-Earth asteroid (25143) Itokawa and successfully collected a few soil samples, but contact was lost thereafter. Contact was re-established over a year later and Hayabusa successfully delivered its samples to Earth in June 2010. Hayabusa, along with other spacecraft missions, will be discussed in more detail in a future “Special Topics” presentation. 

MAY 9, 2018: Comet PANSTARRS C/2016 R2 passes through perihelion at a heliocentric distance of 2.602 AU. This is an example of the rare carbon monoxide-rich comets, which are discussed in a future “Comet of the Week” presentation on Comet Humason 1961e. 

More from Week 19:

Comet of the Week    Special Topic    Free PDF Download    Glossary

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Author

  • Alan Hale

    Alan Hale was born in Tachikawa, Japan (as the son of a U.S. Air Force officer) but moved with his family later soon after to Alamogordo, New Mexico, where he spent his childhood years. Hale entered the Navy and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physics After leaving the service, he began working at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory on the Deep Space Network. While at JPL he was involved with several spacecraft projects, most notably the Voyager 2 encounter with the planet Uranus. Following that encounter, Hale left JPL and enrolled at New Mexico State University. He earned his Master’s Degree and then his Ph.D.. His thesis paper has become one of the seminal papers in early exoplanet research, with over 200 citations to date. He worked at the New Mexico Museum of Space History as its Staff Astronomer and Outreach Education Coordinator, before founding the Southwest Institute for Space Research (now known as the Earthrise Institute). He has developed and taught astronomy-related educational activities at the university level. Hale’s research interests include the search for planets beyond the solar system; stars like the sun; minor bodies in the solar system, especially comets and near-Earth asteroids; and advocacy of spaceflight. He is primarily known for his work with comets, which has included his discovery of Comet Hale-Bopp in 1995. In recent years he has worked to increase scientific collaboration between the U.S. and other nations, including Iran, Zimbabwe, and Lebanon. Hale lives in the Sacramento Mountains outside of Cloudcroft, New Mexico with his partner Vickie Moseley. He has two sons, Zachary and Tyler, both of whom have graduated from college. On clear nights he can often be found making observations of the latest comets or other astronomical phenomena.

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