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The Modern Role of Visual Observations of Comets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 April 2016

S.M. Larson ,
S.J. Edberg  and
D.H. Levy
S.M. Larson
Affiliation:
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA
S.J. Edberg
Affiliation:
Jet Propulsion Laboratory California, Institute of Technology Pasadena, California 91109, USA
D.H. Levy
Affiliation:
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona 85721, USA

Abstract

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This paper reviews the role of past and future visual observations in cometary research. The strengths and limitations of visual observations are explored for the benefit of both investigators who might have to use them and observers who wish to make real contributions to the field. We consider the characteristics of the eye-brain combination as a detector and compare them with those of modern detectors. We specifically evaluate visual discoveries, magnitude estimates, and drawings.

Type
Section I: Observing Techniques and Interpretation
Information
International Astronomical Union Colloquium , Volume 116 , Issue 1: Comets in the Post-Halley Era , 1989 , pp. 209 - 223
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1991

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