People tugged by the leash they’re holding often call out, “Good dog!” or “Bad dog!” It makes me think of comets. That’s because life brings us good ones like Hale-Bopp in 1997, while most are bad, meaning disappointing. Maybe the comet is too faint to see without a telescope. Or perhaps it’s only visible in the Southern Hemisphere, like comet McNaught in 2007. Unfortunately, no one can confidently predict the brightness of an approaching comet.
The most famous depression-inducing celestial object was probably comet Kohoutek. The mass media called it The Comet of the Century, and a major news magazine featured it on its cover in 1973. But it proved utterly invisible for 90% of the US population. The lesson still hadn’t been learned when the most celebrated comet approached for its supposed “close approach” in the spring of 1986. Halley’s comet had been mind-blowing when it last appeared in 1910, and its 76-year period meant that some old-timers remembered that visitation from their childhood, long ago. Yet, Earth was on the wrong side of its orbit for Halley’s newest arrival, which started in the autumn of 1985. It proved to be the comet’s dimmest apparition since the days of the Roman empire.
No matter. Serious comet lovers like your present writer repress such events and instead recall the comets that grew bright enough to appear without the need of a telescope. Hovering motionless among the stars of Taurus (because comets do not zoom through the sky, contrary to the common mistaken belief) bright comet Bennett stood out even in the light-polluted skies of New York City in 1970. But it was nothing compared with the glorious double-tailed comet West in March of 1976, which lit up the skies over the Mid-Hudson valley, at least for those who’d set alarms to venture out before dawn. Twenty years later — the average interval between the appearances of so-called “Great Comets” — people in rural regions like ours saw the huge if faint Comet Hyakutaki in 1996, whose tail took up half the sky! Then came the brightest and longest-lasting comet since 1811, the unforgettable Hale-Bopp in 1997, which remained a naked-eye spectacle for 18 months. Skipping over a bunch of very faint but still naked-eye comets such as Iras-Iraki-Alcock in 1983 and comet Neowise in 2022, we’d have to mention the sky-spanning brilliance of comet McNaught In 2007, which unfortunately could only be seen by people in the southern hemisphere. Bottom line: You can always predict where and when a comet will appear, but not how bright it will become.
That’s why we ought to be cautious when we read about the incoming comet Tsuchinshan, and see that some writers are calling it a ‘comet of the century.’ It may in fact be impossibly difficult to see. Or it may be a grand sight. It certainly already looks great in photographs. But as we’ve seen with the Northern Lights, some celestial objects that are ‘barely there’ in person appear incredible through photography.
The biggest challenge is that it will be very low in the sky. Plus, evening twilight will still be bright behind the comet. So if you’d like to give it a shot, put October 11-16 into your calendar. Next, plan ahead to go to a place where nothing blocks the western horizon. We’re talking about a clear view all the way down, like some riverside people have if they overlook the Hudson facing west. Or go to the Rhinecliff train station. Then, starting October 11 gaze low down 45 minutes after sunset, which will be 7 p.m. If you peer closely, you’ll see the planet Venus shining in that area. Well, the comet is to the right of Venus, with its tail angling almost straight up. If you don’t see anything there in the twilight, sweep that region with binoculars. If it’s cloudy or you simply still don’t see it, it should be easier the next few nights because the comet will be a bit higher.
Comet Tsuchinshan is pronounced like Sue-Chin-Shan. And, again, if you really can’t see it, use your camera on a tripod, and you’ll probably capture a very nice image with a five- to ten-second exposure. Then you can know that this rather strange year has brought an unusual harvest of celestial spectacles. A total solar eclipse in our region, several northern lights displays, and now a comet. If we were like the ancient superstitious Chinese or Mayans, we just might attribute it to some portentous earthly happening.
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