Isles get front-row
seats for 2 cometsStar parties are set to view
the stellar shows this month
Two comets can be seen with the naked eye this month, weather permitting, said Carolyn Kaichi, Bishop Museum Planetarium manager.
Comet NEAT will make its closest approach to Earth tonight, about 30 million miles away, and should be at its brightest, she said. But whether it will be bright enough to see without binoculars is not known, she said.
No one here has reported seeing NEAT with the unaided eye yet, but an observer in Australia said "it was really neat, a robust comet," she said.
It will be just to the left of Sirius, brightest star in the sky, about one-third of the way up in the southwestern sky tonight. It will continue to be visible in the night sky throughout May, either to the naked eye or with binoculars, and will be just to the left of the star Procyon on Sunday and Monday.
Comet LINEAR also will be visible in the morning sky until about Wednesday. It rises almost due east and never gets more than 20 degrees above the eastern horizon before the rising sun's light blots it out, Kaichi said.
LINEAR will be lost in the sun Wednesday to May 21, then emerge in the evening about May 22. Look for it at about 8 p.m. to the left of Sirius the Dog Star.
From May 22 until early June, both comets will be visible in the western sky at the same time, promising a good show if they have long tails and they are bright enough to be seen unaided, Kaichi said.
At 8:15 p.m. on May 22, LINEAR will be next to Sirius, low in the west, and NEAT will be 45 degrees above LINEAR to the right.
Venus will be near the horizon, and there will be an early crescent moon roughly halfway between Venus and Comet NEAT.
The Hawaiian Astronomical Society is planning some public star parties later this month as the comets climb higher in the sky. They will be as follows:
>> May 22 at Dillingham Air Field. People planning to go should contact society President Chris Peterson for directions, 956-3131, and plan to be there before dark.>> May 29, Kahala Community Park, next to Kahala Elementary School on Kilauea Avenue, and Waikele Regional Community Park, Pulelo Street. The society asks participants to show up before dark to locate the groups and not to take flashlights, which spoil the night view, Kaichi said.