Cat’s Eye Nebula

The Cat’s Eye Nebula, as photographed by the Hubble Telescope. Discovered in 1786, the Cat’s Eye Nebula lies 3,000 light years from Earth. Interestingly (for me anyway), the Cat’s Eye Nebula is only about 1000 years old (+/- 260 years).

Cat's Eye Nebula

A planetary nebula like this (which, confusingly, has nothing to do with planets) is a star near its last stage of life. A star begins as a cloud of molecular dust, settles into a main-sequence star like the Sun, expands to become a red giant, then contracts to a white dwarf, then dissipates as a planetary nebula, then explodes into a supernova. Somewhere in that sequence there are also red dwarfs and blue dwarfs.

You can see more amazing photos of deep space objects and such at NASA’s http://hubblesite.org/.

And here’s a trippy, catchy song about supernovas, by the band Oasis when they were still good:

The Great Easter Comet of 1066

This week’s featured comet: The Great Easter Comet of 1066.

Comete_Tapisserie_Bayeux

The Great Easter Comet of 1066–also called “The Comet of the Conquest”–was actually Halley’s Comet, making one of its 76-year periodic appearances. And 1066, you’ll remember from history class, was the year of the Norman Conquest of England.

Legend says that the comet appeared at Easter time and shone for forty days, waxing and waning with the moon:

“Under its seven rays, that year, William the Conqueror felt inspired to fall upon England, while Harold, the Saxon, on the other hand, saw in the Comet a star of dread foreboding and of doom.”

The comet lit the Normans’ trip across the English Channel, and William pointed it out to his soldiers to stir their courage, saying it was a sign from heaven of their coming victory.

Sigebert of Brabant, a Belgian chronicler of the time, wrote of the comet: “Over the island of Britain was seen a star of a wonderful bigness, to the train of which hung a fiery sword not unlike a dragon’s tail; and out of the dragon’s mouth issued two vast rays, whereof one reached as far as France, and the other, divided into seven lesser rays, stretched away towards Ireland.”

After the Norman Conquest, the comet was immortalized in the Bayeux Tapestry, sewn by William’s wife, Queen Matilda, and her court. You can still see the tapestry in Bayeux, France. In one panel, King Harold of England is shown cowering on his throne while his people huddle together in fear, pointing at the comet. The Latin legend over the picture reads “Isti Mirant Stella”: They marvel at the star.

576px-Bayeux_Tapestry_scene32_Halley_comet

One result of the Norman Conquest (and of the comet, you could say) is that we now have many, many words of French origin in the English language, such as “conquest,” “origin,” and “language.”

A Comet a Week

As a lead up to the July 30th release of THE NIGHT OF THE COMET, I’m going to feature a famous comet a week on this blog.

Blatant self-promotion, yes, but you might enjoy it. Collect all the comets and you’ll win . . . I don’t know. Something special.

This week’s comet, one of history’s most famous: Constantine’s Comet.

Constantine's Comet

You might be familiar with the legend: Constantine the Great, Roman Emperor and founder of Constantinople (today’s Istanbul), converted to Christianity in the 4th century when he had a vision of a cross burning in the sky above a battlefield:

“He saw with his own eyes in the heavens a trophy of the cross arising from the light of the sun, carrying the message, In Hoc Signo Vinces or ‘with this sign, you will conquer.’”

He commanded his soldiers to make the mark the cross on their shields, and thus he won the battle.

Some maintain that the light in the sky Constantine saw was a comet, “Constantine’s Comet.”

Comet ISON Update

Here’s an artist’s rendition of how Comet ISON, the “Comet of the Century,” might look in December this year, from earthsky.org:

ISON18thDec5pm

And here’s a recent piece in Space.com that recalls another famous Comet of the Century:

“Remember Kohoutek?

“If you’re of a certain age, this story might have a familiar ring. Indeed, exactly 40 years ago, a comet by the name of Kohoutek was also discovered at a tremendously large distance from the sun, en route to a close solar encounter in late December 1973.

“Like ISON, Kohoutek was expected to dazzle — perhaps more than 100 times brighter than Venus. It, too, was dubbed “the comet of the century,” but in the end, Kohoutek turned out to be much dimmer and put on a rather disappointing show.”

Summer Reading Pick in South Carolina

This just in: THE NIGHT OF THE COMET is on a Southern Titles Summer Reading list in The State newspaper, out of Columbia, South Carolina:

“‘The Night of the Comet’ by George Bishop: Obsessed with the coming of Comet Kohoutek, a frustrated high school science teacher tries to bond with his 14-year-old son, Alan Jr., by giving him a telescope. But instead of pointing it at the stars, Alan Jr. focuses the instrument on the bedroom window of his neighbor and classmate, Gabriella. The closer the comet draws, the more relationships fracture. Aug. 6. Random House. $29.95.”

And here’s a picture of the the South Carolina flag, which I always liked:

750px-Flag_of_South_Carolina.svg