Comet Machholz with the Hyades/Pleiades Shot

Still not convinced about the tails. They point in the wrong direction and come out of the coma both at an odd angle and bend just afterwards thus my belief in that it is just matter caught in the solar wind, which is not technically a tail.

More on the comet here.

cometography.com/lcomets/2004Q2.html

Mentions perihelion date so if there is no tail now there probably won't be one. Mentions C2 emissions which may account for the colour.

Really nice shot Keith. Also glad to see someone is keeping one hour photo in business!

Still not convinced about the tails. They point in the wrong direction and come out of the coma both at an odd angle and bend just afterwards thus my belief in that it is just matter caught in the solar wind, which is not technically a tail.

James,

See this link

hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/solar/comet.html

This is how I understand the ion tail and dust tails point in different directions. Gravity is the key.

Also see

encke.jpl.nasa.gov has somew great photos showing both tails.

Dave.

links to a couple of images posted on uk.sci.astronomy over the last day or so showing tails

www.digitalsky.org.uk/comets/Machholz/2005-01-06_00h10m.jpg
www.astronomike.net/fr_image_12384.html
www.digitalsky.org.uk/comets/Machholz/longtail.jpg
home.freeuk.com/m.gavin/digsky.htm

Really nice shot Keith. Also glad to see someone is keeping one hour photo in business!

Still not convinced about the tails. They point in the wrong direction and come out of the coma both at an odd angle and bend just afterwards thus my belief in that it is just matter caught in the solar wind, which is not technically a tail.

James,

See this link

hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/solar/comet.html

This is how I understand the ion tail and dust tails point in different directions. Gravity is the key.

Also see

encke.jpl.nasa.gov has somew great photos showing both tails.

Dave.

I shouldn't think gravity would have much to do with it. It's just that neither tail points directly away from the sun and neither away from the line of travel. Instead both are equidistant from the line of travel therefore neither are related to the sun's solar wind nor trail directly behind.