Haley's Comet and other celestial occurances

[Travis]

Since Mars is in the night sky, and bright as hell, it got me to wondering, did M$ include such things as Halley's Comet and other such stuff in FS?

And if M$ did not include Halley's, is it possible to accomplish that?

[Ivan]

i don't know about halleys comet, but there is a 9000 stars addon which is freely available at the Boeing Clipper site and no-nodes

[ozzy72]

I can't say I've come across Haleys, but there are always the Southern and Northern Lights for a bit of nice nightime scenery.
Do a search for Easter Eggs and I'm sure you'll find a comprehensive list.

Ozzy

[Travis]

Okay, I have found all that, and thank you!  But no Halley's in the Easter Eggs or in the 9000 stars.  I think I'm going to make it myself . . .

Does anyone know where I can find the exact dates and times and all of that when Halley's is supposed to be seen?  I remember '86, and it is supposed to come again in 2062, but I can't find what time of year or where in the sky or precise times.  Any help is great!!

[zcottovision]

It's not possible to calculate the exact date in 2061 when Halley's Comet will come back.....keep your eyes peeled.

[Travis]

Why is it not possible to calculate the exact date?  Its just celestial mechanics, which have been worked out to the nth degree for all the planets, moons and other celestial bodies . . .

[Craig.]

there are various reason why an exact prediction isnt possible, they usually can get it within a few days and as the time gets closer they obviously can get a precise date. i believe haleys comet doest work on a perfect orbit which is one reason why, might have read wrong though

[Travis]

Nothings easy, is it?

Oh, well.

[Craig.]

http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/nineplanets ... alley.html
thats got a good description of why it cant be predicted accuratly and the years its beens een i am looking for exact dates of sightings

[Travis]

Just to correct myself and prove you fellas right:

Halley's should (in theory) have a predictable orbit, because celestial mechanics is a very exact science.

HOWEVER

Since it offgasses when it is close to the sun, this pushes its orbit out of alignment, and since there have been no detailed surveys of the surface and composition, etc, there is no way for scientists to predict its passage.

And on a side note, I just remembered reading about Halley's in a book by Arthur C. Clarke.  In 2061: Odyssey Three, the second sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey, a group of scientists lands on the comet.  Really interesting sci-fi.

[Merlin66]

As an amateur astronomer with almost 40 years experience I can say that within the accuracy of the MS model I can provide an ephemeris for the comet and anticipated brightness, I can't give you an accurate prediction of what it will look like due to some of the factors already mentioned.

Don't have my SKY program immediately to hand but will check it out over the weekend.
If you give me your email, I'll send copies.
Ken
derrinal@bigpond.com

[Travis]

Great!  I would love to have anything you can provide on this subject.  I can use that, with a little practice, to place an effect object in the night sky using a *.bgl placer.

BTW, what is "ephemeris"?

[Polynomial]

prolly all available in third party addons.

[Woodlouse2002]

Remember that it appeared in 1066 folks! Something happened that year... Um... Er... Oh well.

[Merlin66]

Ephemeris is just the Astronomy lingo for a set of sky positions over time for a moving object. We use Long/ Lat coordinates on Earth and RA/ Dec coordinates in the sky. Hence an Ephemeris would give RA ( Right Ascension) and Dec ( Declination) for an object, say every 24hrs. That allows you to plot it on a Star map and hopefully find it in the night sky.
Ken