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Naked-Eye Comet Makes Northern Hemisphere Debut
By Robert Myers
Multimedia Producer
posted: 11:40 am ET
29 June 2001
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comet_2001a_010629 2001's most visible comet yet, C/2001 A2 (LINEAR), has begun appearing in the binoculars and small telescopes of amateur observers in the northern parts of the world. Until recently it was only visible to observers in southern hemisphere countries. C/2001 A2 is another in a long string of comets discovered by and named after the Lincoln Near Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) project, and thus bears the same name as several other recently visible comets. C/2001 A2 made its closest approach to the Sun on May 24th, and is heading for its closest approach to Earth on June 30th. Beginning around March 30th the comet had two sudden leaps in brightness, and shortly afterward it was observed that the comet had broken into two, and then three pieces. Scientists believe it was these breakups that caused the sudden brightening events. The comet's brightness has been stabilizing since then. Rising in the east south-east at around 2:00 AM local time, the comet's head should be visible to the naked eye from places of moderate light pollution, such as the suburbs or smaller urban areas. The comet's tail is reportedly visible in binoculars to those in fairly dark areas. As the comet moves past the Earth and further from the Sun it will continue to dim. However, another breakup event could conceivably cause more dramatic brightening before it fades from view for amateur astronomers.
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