Comet near Earth

[Kolano]

Looking at Earth tonight I noticed a nearby comet, 2P P/Encke.


Does Celestia display comets much bigger than reality or what?

I found this page which seems to give a real image of it http://www.usenet.com/newsgroups/sci.astro.ccd-imaging/msg00230.html

Can something be added to comet definitions to allow their tails to be drawn more realistically.

[JackHiggins]

I'll second that... Comet tails in Celestia are far, FAR bigger and brighter than they should be!

I think it's the A1, A2, and A3 components in Horizons ephemeridies that give data on the comet's tail..?

[chris]

Yes, something needs to be done about comet tails . . . At the very least, the comet tail brightness should be adjusted based on the amount of received radiation and the size of the comet. I suppose it could be further modified by some sort of cometary activity field, but since it would involve invention of data--probably a bad idea.

I think that Encke is faint because it orbits so close to the Sun that its volatiles have been depleted. I suspect it's also quite a small comet.

--Chris