NEAT Comet Crossing: Internet Telescopes

An anonymous reader writes "During a large solar coronal mass ejection, this week's NEAT Comet crossing, gave some spectacular film footage. While no comet with such a small nucleus has ever survived that kind of close solar approach (one-fourth of Mercury's orbit) without fragmenting, this one did-- and is now outward bound on its 370 century roundtrip. These new comet discoveries have filled the log files of the now 70 big robotic telescope projects, most of which are being connected to the internet. The largest ($3 M) research-class one for public use--the Hawaiian Faulkes Project--will see first light in 45 days."

Comments

Shocking - "reluctant teachers"

[anagama]

From one of the articles:
"Faulkes is currently trying to persuade time-pressed teachers - who are more reluctant than he envisaged - to get involved with the project."

Reluctant teachers are the types who would keep school dull and disconnected from the real world. It is amazing how, even in adulthood, I find myself going back and actually learning things I was supposed to have learned in school. It always comes in the context of a project I may get involved with. Way back in school, when that bit of knowledge was disconnected from any real world application, I found it hard to keep my focus. When that bit of knowledge relates to my life, I find it extremely fascinating.

In the face of such an interesting activity, "reluctant teachers" should be summarily fired.

Of course it survived: it was small

[Bas_Wijnen]

While no comet with such a small nucleus has ever survived that kind of close solar approach (one-fourth of Mercury's orbit) without fragmenting, this one did

In astronomy, there is something called the "Roche limit". It is the closest a object can come to another object without being torn apart (by difference in gravitational force between the part closest to the star/planet/whatever, and the part furthest away from it.) The larger the satellite, the larger the difference in force and therefore the larger this limit.

So the answer why such a small nucleus did not get torn apart is easy: because it is so small.

The Astronomy Center, UK

[alanw]

There are a bunch of us at The Astronomy Center in the North of England, who are building a 42 inch (1.06 metre) robotic/Internet telescope. We have finished building the 30 foot (10 metre) dome that the telescope will live in, and are half way through building the grinding machine for figuring the mirror. Lots more information on the web site above. More volunteers are always welcome.