Comet McNaught is going away from Earth into the outer reaches of the Solar System after a good show in the North Hemisphere and a spectacular better show in the Southern Hemisphere. I saw it for 4 days and photographed it and videotaped it (see days before on this blog).
To view great picture from all around the world look at
http://spaceweather.comHere is some historical perspective on the nature of Comet McNaught which is literally said to be is one of the "horse comets."
interesting saying/ proverb
"When beggars die there are no comets seen; The heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes." -
Shakespeare.
Comet McNaught is one of the horse comets
citations from :
Session 35 - HAD III: From Hamlet to Crop Circles.
Oral session, Wednesday, January 07
Monroe, [35.03] New Numismatic Evidence about the Comets of Mithradates the Great of Pontus (134 and 119 BC).
M. R. Molnar (Rutgers Univ.)
The historian, Justinus, tells us that the life of Mithradates the Great of Pontus (ca. 134 - 63 BC) was marked by two unusually large comets: one at his birth in ca. 134 BC and another at his coronation ca. 119 BC.
Often these comets are cited as proof that sometimes comets heralded great, good events (such as the Star of Bethlehem.) We now have evidence that counters that notion. Mithradates struck some bronze coins that depict a foreboding hippeus (horse) comet. Pliny, the Roman naturalist, tells us that this kind of comet had plumes much like horses manes in very rapid motion and moving in a circle.
The evidence is that the horses mains are synchronic bands. The visibility of these bands indicates that the hippeus comet is a class of comets that had a close encounter with the earth, perhaps on the order of a million kilometers. Hephaistion of Thebes tells us that the hippeus comet foretold the quick fall of kings and tyrants and rapid changes in the affairs of these countries. It is likely that the comet was interpreted as an omen of violent revolution, but Mithradates apparently altered the focus of the portent, namely that the comet signified his struggle to evict the Romans from Asia Minor.
Doug Zubenel and I saw the comet again on the 8th in Shawnee Mission, KS ( West of Kansas City) USA. Seemed even brighter with the gold-white coma, the fan light -yellow tail then night before. It seemed brighter tonight with the filmy hood around the coma more distinct. I took this shot with my digital kodak 290, 2 sec at 100 asa looking through Doug's 6 inch telescope as the comet was going toward the trees. (The red dot is a tower light in the trees and Upside down because of telescope)
ther highlight was the spectacular look through binoculars on the 9th. Tonight the coma was brighter, tail was longer stretching at least 1 degree or more angling to Northwest.
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