(meteorobs) Error in USA WEEKEND -- Bill Cooke Responds!

[Skywayinc at aol.com]

Right after I posted the E-Mail concerning the error in USA WEEKEND,
Bill Cooke responded to clarify what actually was meant.  -- joe  r.
 
Hi Joe!  


Actually, there was some confusion I think. I mentioned  comet breakups, 
such as Biela and SW-3, and then pointed out that sun grazer  nuclei tended to 
disintegrate, like Comet Lovejoy in December 2011. There is  good evidence 
that the nucleus of Kohoutek did partially disintegrate, which  would be a 
reason for its poor post perihelion performance; it is even in the  Wikipedia 
article "… However, Kohoutek's display was considered a  let-down,[3] 
possibly due to partial disintegration when the  comet closely approached the sun 
prior to its Earth flyby...". My bet was  that the nucleus of ISON would 
disintegrate, which got translated into "broke  up". Unfortunately, I did not 
get to see the article before it was posted. While  I agree that the nucleus 
of Kohoutek did not split into fragments, it did not  make it past its 
relatively close perihelion unscathed.


However, this may all be moot, as ISON's brightening  rate has flattened 
out over the past 100+ days. This is disappointing, as I have  been wishing 
for a really bright comet for several years now.


Kind regards,
 
Bill Cooke
Meteoroid  Environments Office
EV44, Marshall Space Flight  Center

Office: (256) 544-9136
Fax: (256) 544-3060
_William.J.Cooke at nasa.gov_ (mailto:William.J.Cooke at nasa.gov) 





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