[vsnet-chat 364] comet & southern variable star conjunctions

[Fraser Farrell <fraserf@dove.net.au>]

G'day all,

While having a play with the latest update to GUIDE 5.0, I noticed the
following conjunctions between comets P/Encke & P/Hale-Bopp and various
variables.

This listing (by no means complete) gives the days when a different kind
of cloud may affect observations - either by target occultation or by
observer distraction!  Alternatively, the close events provide a chance
to "probe" the comets' structures via regular photometry of the star.

All events are (theoretically) visible from latitude 35 south.  Some
will be low, some will have unfavourable moonlight.  GIF binocular
charts for some of these starfields are available from the ASSA variable
star group webpage (http://vsnet.gist.net.au/assa/vsg.htm) in the "Charts"
section.  Good luck with the weather!


P/Encke conjunctions (includes tail):

stars                dates
--------             -----
T Mon           1997 Jun 13
W Mon                Jun 23 to 24
X Mon                Jun 23 to 24
W CMa                Jun 24
Z CMa                Jun 24
Gamma CMa            Jun 25  - occultation by coma?
VY CMa               Jun 28
AI Vel               Jul 03
Gamma Vel            Jul 03
IX Vel               Jul 03
l Car                Jul 07  (comet mag 8.2?)
S Car                Jul 07
IC 2602 cluster      Jul 08  - multiple occultations by coma?
BO Mus               Jul 10  - closest separation only 4' arc !
BY Cir               Jul 14
AX Cir               Jul 15

P/Encke passes midway between Alpha Cen & Beta TrA on Jul 16, then fades
rapidly as it moves into Nor, Ara and southern Sco.  P/Encke also passes
close to P/Hale-Bopp in mid-June...


P/Hale-Bopp conjunctions:

stars                dates      separation
--------             -----      ----------
Alpha Ori       1997 Jun 04      1.8 degrees
T Mon                Jun 14      3.2 d
X Mon                Jul 18      2.0 d
RY CMa               Jul 28      0.25d
W CMa                Jul 28
U Mon                Jul 28-29
R CMa                Aug 07      2.0 d
Z Pup                Aug 19-20   1.6 d
Xi Pup               Aug 31      0.1 d  - occultation by inner coma?
CP Pup field         Sep 26
Zeta Pup             Oct 07      1.2 d
AI Vel               Oct 18      0.7 d
Gamma Vel            Oct 25     <0.1 d  - occultation by inner coma
IX Vel               Oct 29      1.3 d  - comet about mag 7?
Chi Car              Nov 09      0.7 d  - occultation by coma?
RR Pic               Dec 23      1.4 d
Beta Dor        1998 Jan 22      1.0 d  - comet about mag 8?
north edge LMC     late Jan             - great photo opportunity!
R Dor/R Ret          Feb 12      3.5 d
T Dor                Feb 19      1.7 d
SU Dor               Mar 13      1.1 d  - comet about mag 9?
RW Pup               Jun 18-19   0.1 d  - occultation by coma?
Alpha Car (Canopus)  Jul 09      1.6 d
R Vol                Nov 27      1.1 d  - comet about mag 12?

and some really challenging events...

LMC                     1999 Jan to Mar, and 2000 Apr to Jun
NGC 2070 (Tarantula)    2000 Jun  (comet about mag 14?)
T Oct                   for several centuries, beginning about 2020!




cheers,
Fraser Farrell

http://vsnet.dove.net.au/~fraserf/   email: fraserf@dove.net.au
traditional: PO Box 332, Christies Beach, SA  5165, Australia

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