THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 27, 1996 TAG: 9603270409
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JAMES SCHULTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
Astronomically speaking, it was time to welcome Comet Hyakutake to town.
Which is why hazy skies didn't appear to dampen the festive mood of 30 skywatchers gathered Tuesday night outside the Chesapeake Planetarium. Inside, it was standing room only for more than 100 people who assembled to hear a presentation on lunar eclipses before flocking outside for a would-be peek at Hyakutake.
The prospect of one good look brought Chesapeake Fire Department Division Chief Ed Elliott out to the planetarium with sons Jonathan, Jason and Joshua. Two weeks ago, Elliott said, the four rose at 5 a.m. to spy an errant Italian satellite that had broken free from its moorings during a space shuttle mission.
``Neighbors probably thought we were crazy. But we did it,'' he said. ``We were hoping tonight we could get a close glimpse (of the comet). No time line. We'll stay until whenever.''
As kids scampered on the grass in front of the planetarium, some of the adults shivered in the suddenly chill air as a cold front tried to muscle through the thin overcast.
Kent Blackwell, a Virginia Beach resident and member of the Back Bay Amateur Astronomers, was doing some muscling of his own. Blackwell set up a bulky, 12-inch telescope and a pair of 1937-era giant binoculars that he said once graced the deck of a Japanese battleship. Both were trained on a sliver of the moon, whose light was trying to punch through the gauzy sky.
``It doesn't look promising,'' he said. ``But I'm going to set up anyway. I wish I had a hobby that wasn't so dependent on the weather.''
The comet, named after the Japanese amateur astronomer who announced its discovery on Jan. 30, has attracted worldwide attention because of its visibility to the naked eye. Although bright city lights wash out a clear view of Hyakutake, urban dwellers that head to a dark spot are in for a treat, according to Blackwell.
``Saturday, we stayed up all night looking at the comet in Gates, North Carolina,'' he said. ``It was unbelievable: spectacular, with a tail that stretched 30 degrees across the sky. That tail is just invisible in the city.''
Chesapeake Planetarium director Robert Hitt said that Hyakutake has been both boon and headache: A boon because of the attention it brings to the study of astronomy; a headache because intense public interest can overload telephones and answering machines.
``Every time something like this happens, it's like stirring up a bunch of bees,'' he said. ``The phone's been ringing off the hook.''
Hyakutake is accelerating away from Earth at an estimated 140,000 mph, heading toward the sun, which will slingshot it away in the opposite direction. Scientists have estimated that the comet passes our planet once every 10,000 years, but no one has yet worked out an exact orbit nor the precise time Hyakutake takes to complete a single pass.
Although the comet will brighten as the sun's heat vaporizes its icy outer crust, its increasing distance from Earth and the nighttime glare from a waxing moon will make Hyakutake more difficult to make out. Nevertheless, the comet should be visible to some extent through the end of April, with the best times coming in mid-month, with the advent of the new moon.
``We heard we could see it (the comet) tonight,'' said Liz Polley, in attendance with her two children, a neighbor and the neighbor's daughter. ``We're going to try to stay as late as we can until we see something.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by BILL TIERNAN, The Virginian-Pilot
The comet was obscured by clouds, so Jim Soyars and other stargazers
had to be content with looking at the moon at the Chesapeake
Planetarium on Tuesday night.
Color photo
Hyakutake streaks past the Big Dipper earlier this week, above. The
picture was taken with a 180 mm lens, using color negative film with
a speed of 800. The camera was mounted on a tripod for a four-minute
exposure.
Graphic
by CNB