AST101H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Radiation Pressure, Open Cluster, Vega 2
31 May 2016
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The word comet is derived from the greek word kometes for long-haired , suggested by the appearance of a comet"s tails. Although hundreds of comets pass through the inner solar system every year, very few are noticed by the general public. About every decade or so, a comet will become bright enough to be noticed by a casual observer such comets are often designated great comets. Predicting whether a comet will become a great comet is notoriously difficult, as many factors may cause a comet"s brightness to depart drastically from predictions. The late 20th century saw a lengthy gap without the appearance of any great comets, followed by the arrival of two in quick succession . Comet hyakutake in 1996, followed by hale-bopp 2. The first great comet of the 21st century was comet mcnaught 3, which became visible to naked eye observers in january: it was the brightest in over 40 years.
