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Article: <[email protected]>
From: [email protected](Nancy )
Subject: Re: IN SYMPATHY to the Hale-Bopp Cooperative
Date: 25 Feb 1997 15:13:25 GMT
In article <[email protected]> David Tholen
writes:
> Nancy writes:
>> 1. It was supposedly outgassing at 14 AU, so that
McNaught
>> could find it on this 1993 image. 14 AU. At a distance
>> where comets DO NOT outgas [prior to perihelion].
>
> Chiron's outgassing at that distance WAS prior to
perihelion,
> [email protected]
In article <[email protected]> Jeremy Hallum
writes:
> What is Chiron you ask? An asteroid ... Chiron shocked
> astronomers by outgassing as it neared its perihelion point
> a couple of years ago. Imagine that, outgassing near 20 AU.
> Hale-Bopp outgassing near 14 AU just doesn't seem all
> that shocking anymore.
> [email protected] (Jeremy Hallum)
You guys are comparing apples to oranges, as Chiron is an ASTEROID, NOT A COMET. So the ESO is CORRECT when they state, as documented on the web site at
.........
Comet Hale-Bopp: Observations of dust
19 January 1996
It has now been confirmed that a diffuse image found on a UK Schmidt plate obtained in April 1993 (IAUC 6198, 6202) is indeed of this comet (IAUC 6287). This shows that the dust production must have started already when the comet was at heliocentric distance 13 AU or possibly even before. This appears very unusual, and only a few comets have ever shown activity at this large distance (e.g. P/Halley at 14 AU). HOWEVER, ALL SUCH CASES OCCURRED AFTER THE PERIHELION PASSAGE, IN FACT, ONLY COMET HALE-BOPP HAS BEEN OBSERVED AT THIS LARGE DISTANCE BEFORE PERIHELION.