When I read Glenn's notice, I was overcome with great sadness. I was reminded that at the current age of 73 it is most unlikely that I will see Halley again.
On my 8th Christmas, i received a Golden Book of Astronomy that contained a section on the comet and it stated that it would return in 1986. That night I prayed (yes, Phil Groce prays) that I would live long enough to see Halley. That began a habit of measuring my life in astronomical milestones. For instance, my current short term goal is live long enough to see the upcoming April 8th solar eclipse, and so on. Frankly, I am holding out for another comet as bright as Hale Bopp.
In 1984 and 1985, I wrote two planetarium shows that played at the Brest Planetarium in Jacksonville, FL: "In Search of a Comet" that ended with a commentary (no pun intended) chastising the US for not sending a probe to study Halley and "Comet Fever" which was a historical look at the panics and other historical impacts caused by comets including Halley. As research for this show, we went to retirement homes to interview people who thought they saw Halley in 1910. As Jon Bell noted many, people confused the apparition of Halley with the Great Comet of 1910. Kris McCall was working for me then as a show producer and made many hours of recordings of these interviews. We used them as our walk-in "music" for Comet Fever. I don't know what happened to those recordings, but you can bet in 2061 they will prove invaluable. One story was a sad one about two sisters. One who got to see Halley and the other who was sick for many weeks and unable to go outside during Halley's apparition. The one who did see Halley meanly teased and tormented her sister for decades about her lost opportunity. Just before we started our interviews that sister had passed away. During the 1986 apparition, we took busloads over several mornings to see Halley at a dark sky site. I made sure that the last surviving sister got her chance to see Halley for the first time. When she saw it, she hooted and cackled with laughter. When I asked her what she thought, she said, "I finally got even with my mean sister, I got to see Halley and this time she didn't". She then commenced to dance a jig.
In March 1986, I took a group on a cruise up the Orinoco river. There, we made landfall and saw Halley under perfectly dark skies in a Venezuelan jungle. It was magnificent, even though it paled compared to 1910 and its likely appearance in 2061. My Halley photograph taken in Venezuela sits in my family room right next to my pictures of Hale Bopp and Hyakatake. So, to all you young planetarians I envy you, and hope you will make the most of Halley's next appearance.
Phil
Philip Groce, President
Helping Planetariums, Succeed, LLC
619 Orange Street
Macon, GA 31201
cell: 478-719-0661
office:4787507870
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
On Sunday, December 10, 2023 at 09:40:48 AM EST, 'Glenn A. Walsh' via Dome-L <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
Halley's Comet Aphelion - Farthest from Sun
By Glenn A. Walsh
Reporting for SpaceWatchtower
TODAY (Saturday, 2023 December 9) marks Aphelion for Comet Halley, the comet's farthest point in their orbit of the Sun. Halley's Comet's last Perihelion, their closest approaches to the Sun and Earth, came in 1986. Halley's Comet's next Perihelion will come in 2061.
1910 – Astronomer John Brashear shows Halley's Comet to the general public, using telescopes in Pittsburgh's Riverview Park, on the front lawn of the Allegheny Observatory.
1985 & 1986 – Pittsburgh's Buhl Science Center shows Halley's Comet to the general public, using telescopes in the original Buhl Planetarium Observatory, including the historic 10-inch Siderostat-type Refractor Telescope.
2023 December 9 – Halley's Comet reaches Aphelion.
2061 July 28 – Next Halley's Comet Perihelion.
DETAILS: Link >>> https://stardate.org/radio/program/2023-12-09
LIKE THIS POST? PLEASE SHARE!
|
|
|
| | |
|
|
|
| |
Distant Comet | StarDate Online
The most-often-observed of all comets should be ready to head back our way. Calculations of its orbit say it sho...
|
|
|
gaw
Want to receive SpaceWatchtower blog posts in your inbox ?
Send request to < [log in to unmask] >
Glenn A. Walsh, Informal Science Educator & Communicator,
Friends of the Zeiss < http://friendsofthezeiss.org >
Electronic Mail - < [log in to unmask] >
SpaceWatchtower Blog: < http://spacewatchtower.blogspot.com/ >
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Dome-L" group.
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Dome-L" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [log in to unmask]
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/dome-l/486400421.2500066.1702177904547%40mail.yahoo.com.
.FO OFF
########################################################################
Access the MUSEUM-L Home Page and Archives:
https://HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?A0=MUSEUM-L
Unsubscribe from the MUSEUM-L List:
https://HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM/scripts/wa-HOME.exe?SUBED1=MUSEUM-L&A=1
########################################################################