The fading comet

by Bill Arnett


I had a (last?) look at C/1999 S4 LINEAR this evening. It has diminished greatly in the last few days. Tonight it was still easily visible from an experienced observer's point of view but really it was just a faint smudge that I never would have seen had I not been looking in exactly the right spot. No trace of the nuclear condensation which was so prominent a week ago. But the coma was distinctly elongated. I saw no tail at all but didn't really expect to as the sky was too bright.

Last look? Maybe not. It should be visible for a couple more days. But then the Moon will get in the way and after that it will be too low.