Week 12
This Week in History: March 15-21
MARCH 15, 2020: Comet ATLAS C/2019 Y1 will pass through perihelion at a heliocentric distance of 0.838 AU. This is the fourth known member of a “group” of comets, the first of which appeared in 1988; this, and other comet “groups,” are discussed in a future “Special Topics” presentation. Comet ATLAS has become bright enough …
Comet of the Week: The Great Comet of 1843
Perihelion: 1843 February 27.91, q = 0.006 AU For the first time in “Ice and Stone 2020,” a Kreutz sungrazer is my “Comet of the Week.” Some of the members of this group of comets have been among the brightest and most spectacular comets in all of recorded history, and as a group they are …
Special Topic: Resources in “Small Bodies”
When it comes to their composition and internal structure, there is a wide variety among the asteroids. We know this primarily through two means: the study of the various meteorites that have landed on Earth – the subject of a future “Special Topics” presentation – and examination of their spectrum. Although asteroids do not give …