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Recently Discovered Comet SOHO 1998 J1 These Are The Facts! More Fun And Games With Secrets And Lies The May 1998 Update and The SOHO Comet (updated 6/17/98) |
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Recently Discovered Comet SOHO 1998 J1 These Are The Facts! More Fun And Games With Secrets And Lies The May 1998 Update and The SOHO Comet (updated 6/17/98) |
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On may 4th of this year, 1998, in a routine study of SOHO/LASCO imaging, one of our researchers noted an unusual object on a SOHO C3 image. Due to his experience in the field, he immediately recognized and identified the object as a very large comet.
Within hours a quorum of Millennium Group members were notified and consulted. It was curious that this comet had apparently not been reported to Brian Marsden, the foremost expert and keeper of MPC (the Minor Planet Center). Mr. Marsden verifies and assigns credit to the discoverers of unpreviously discovered astronomical objects such as comets. |
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It is a general practice to have an IAU circular/press release published within hours of a report and verification. Unknowing at the time the impact that such a decision would have, we decided to report the object as a discovery and claim credit for it, even though it was clearly on a SOHO image.
Several hours after the report, there was still no response in the form of an IAU circular, however Mr. Marsden, in a return email, stated that the comet had previously been reported by SOHO staff. We addressed the issue once again by asking for the press release/circular to be posted.
We were responded to by a terse email From Dr. Green, Mr. Marsden's associate, stating that we had a lot of nerve attempting to take credit for the discovery of a comet while utilizing another agency's instrumentation. At first we were a bit confused, seeing as how we had all paid taxes this year and were/are entitled to the fruits of this project. However this did not answer the question concerning the missing press release. |
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Finally, about two days later the circular/press release finally showed up on their site...post dated. Initially we were confused about the obvious reluctance to post the discovery, then we began to realize that the comet was likely discovered sometime before and it appeared that they had hoped that it would go unseen as it was to be on the SOHO images only a very short period.
The fact of the matter is, that "We The People" have an enormous amount of satellite resources such as IRAS, HST and so on and so on, that can easily identify infrared signals and even incredibly small objects a significant distance from the earth. |
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There has been some suggestion that this comet came in 'dark' until it was within only an AU or less from the sun. First of all, with these instruments that matters very little.
And second of all, the suggestion that a comet did not begin to sublimate (speaking in the old tired "Dirty Snowball Theory"-DSB) until it was in that close, would totally go against the DSB hypothesis, as they claim that comet ices begin to sublimate at 2.5 - 3 AU's.
The fact is, that it is very possible that the comet did not become active until very close to the sun, which lends support to the McCanney theory of comets. That is, that comets are reactive to the "capacitor" of the sun not only to the heat.
So the comet would therefore become active when the electromagnetic field threshold supports the reaction between the two bodies. |
This comet is unusual in a very familiar sort of way. It is a quite bright comet, as comets go; Almost -1.5, brighter than Mars; It's trajectory is taking it inside the orbit of the earth and indeed close to the earth as comets go - approximately .85 AU's, if it stays the expected published course; It's apparent size is huge, measuring larger than Hale Bopp; And it is very electromagnetically reactive with the sun. |
As always, I have attempted to show the possibilities with these incredible heavenly events. I will leave it up to the reader's discretion as to what they would like to believe. it is possible that the forces that exist between the comet and the sun can cause a shift in trajectory. As Marsden calls them, nongravimetric sources, can shift the path of the comet.
Let me remind the reader of the powerful event that we were able to view on Jupiter, just this decade. SL9 was influenced by Jupiter and was dragged back into its surface, creating incredible destruction. There is also a real concern that there is a considerable amount of debris accompanying the comet that could be captured and then sent flying through the planets.
There is a real risk that the comet could be torn asunder by these incredibly powerful forces, once - again sending debris throughout the solar system. And then of course the effects could be enlarged that we are already feeling from the comet Hale Bopp in the form of severe weather, seismic activity and even greater solar bursts.
Note the "spikes" exiting from the head of the comet. These are just a sampling of images available from the NASA project. Unfortunately they release very few high resolution images. I guess something this 'big' can only be kept hidden so long.
In fact there have been many comments from the so-called professional astronomers as to the number of bright and close comets in the recent months. The current ephemeris shows the comet leaving the solar system. I hope that they are accurate.
Now, on the heels of this story, this demand appears:
NASA: Astronomers should keep mum about asteroids for 72 hours
LOS ANGELES (AP)
-- If a professional stargazer catches sight of an asteroid that might be on a crash course for Earth, the government wants them to keep it quiet about it -- for at least 72 hours. The new procedures aim to avoid panic from mistaken reports of doomsday, like the flurry of worry in March when astronomers reported asteroid 1997XF11 could collide with Earth in 2028. That was soon found to be erroneous.
Astronomers whose work is funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have agreed for now to keep asteroid and comet discoveries to themselves for 48 hours while more detailed calculations are made, the Los Angeles Times reported today. The findings would then go to NASA, which would wait another 24 hours before going public.
The new interim procedures are not an attempt to hide anything but to make sure the information is accurate, said scientist Donald Yeomans of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, whose calculations helped dispel the fear asteroid 1997XF11 was headed straight for Earth. "It is an attempt for the small scientific community that tracks these objects to build a consensus, to determine if an asteroid is a threat,'' he said.
Some scientists question the new push from NASA, saying quick action from astronomers is needed to determine an asteroid's danger. "I don't think one should be secret about these things,'' said Brian G. Marsden, the director of the International Astronomical Union who made the announcement about 1997XF11's close pass to Earth. "I think the public would be unhappy.''
NASA officials were "very upset'' that they first heard of the 1997XF11 threat from reporters. "Almost all of us found out by press release,'' Yeomans said. "Clearly that is not the way it should work.'' The first reports estimated it would pass within 30,000 miles of the Earth's center and could possibly collide. That distance was later recalculated at safe distances of 600,000 miles.
Some astronomers say releasing their discoveries quickly and openly is critical. When a new asteroid or comet is discovered, scientists need as many sightings as possible in order to precisely plot its orbit and gauge how close it may pass to Earth. In many cases, an asteroid gets lost in the star field before its orbit is calculated. Usually, new observations are immediately reported to the Minor Planet Center, where it is posted on a Web site.
In June, the National Research Council plans to convene astronomers and experts in risk assessment and hazard management meeting to consider how best to release news of potential disaster. Worries of comet-delivered catastrophe have caught the attention of Hollywood, which this summer delivers two asteroid disaster movies: "Deep Impact'' and "Armageddon.''
I hope that it is clear that the Millennium Group takes the stand
that there should be absolutely NO delay in reporting Earth crossing asteroids
and comets. It's funny that even in the recent movie "Deep Impact", the
president and our government kept the secret of this destructive comet
for over a year! In fact they were forced to reveal the truth due to the
threat of a reporter revealing their secret! Is this just one more case
of art mirroring real life????
Commentary From James McCanney
Dear Friends
Very interesting. On SOHO J1 photos, note that the "rays" in the cometary tail indicate pinched currents (the same as Hale Bopp "spider" photos). These are composite streamers of current that control the flow of material into the comet nucleus.
The pinched currents are plasma sheets that pull together from the self induced magnetic field of the currents flowing in the inflowing ionized tail material. The dirty snow ball comet model cannot explain the symmetry of these streamers. That model would have streamers but cannot explain the symmetric way the streamers separate as seen in these photos.
