Jedolby

  I saw a headline in the news last week that said, "3I/ATLAS Comet Changes Course Again - NASA Warns of Unpredictable Path." Oh, brother! What does the author of such an article want us to believe? "Changing course" for where, exactly? Are we to believe that it's turning around and coming for earth? And does "Unpredictable Path" mean that the comet will soon be lost, because we won't know where to look for it? I realize that headlines like this are mere click-bait. I shouldn't pay any attention to them at all. But apparently a lot of people are paying attention to them! At least, judging from the comments on these types of incendiary articles and YouTube videos, it appears as though a large number of people believe that aliens are in control of 3I/ATLAS. I hope these commenters are just trolling us. But okay. Let's take the headline at face value. If the comet has truly changed course and is now on an unpredictable path, that means my sky...

  What a weird comet, eh? Here's my shot, taken this morning at around 5 o'clock. Close inspection of the image reveals somewhat of a tail pointing upward, and somewhat of another tail pointing downward. Tail and anti-tail? Perhaps. But keep in mind that we're viewing the comet such that its tails may be pointing away from us, regardless of which side of the comet they appear to be on from our perspective.  Of course, the odd shape of Comet 3I/ATLAS is just one more of several alleged anomalies that conspiracy theorists have pointed to in an effort to persuade us that it's not a comet at all, but rather a space probe sent by aliens from a distant star system to gather information about us or to attack us.  Whatever! I don't believe there's anything artificial about 3I/ATLAS. For one thing, it's come a long way and has to have traveled a very long time across the galaxy. It is likely older than our solar system, meaning that if it was launched by aliens, they...

  3I/ATLAS The other day, a friend texted me, "What do you think of 3I ATLAS?" For backyard astronomers like me, that's a loaded question. Especially when the answer is to be communicated by text. I don't know what non-astronomer types think when they read about comets and asteroids in the news. Without a telescope, and without being familiar with the constellations, they can't go out at night and look at it for themselves. They must use their imaginations. If they've never looked at a comet or asteroid firsthand, they have no idea how to imagine them, and they may not have any understanding of what these objects are.  Even the beginners out there who have Go-To telescopes will find it a challenge to find these objects. That's because comets and asteroids do not appear in the object catalogs built into Go-To telescopes. And if the user chooses to incorporate planetarium software to control the telescope via computer, he or she will need to update the comet...