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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!alberta!cadomin!andrew
From: andrew@cadomin.UUCP (Andrew Folkins)
Newsgroups: net.astro
Subject: Re: Halley identification
Message-ID: <642@cadomin.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 13-Nov-85 16:40:33 EST
Article-I.D.: cadomin.642
Posted: Wed Nov 13 16:40:33 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 14-Nov-85 08:08:50 EST
References: <1343@decwrl.UUCP>
Reply-To: andrew@cadomin.UUCP (Andrew Folkins)
Organization: U. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB
Lines: 41

In article <1343@decwrl.UUCP> fisher@scotty.DEC (Burns Fisher, MRO3-1/E13, DTN 231-4108.) writes:
>I was out looking for Halley's comet tonight after seeing the posting a few
>days ago saying that it was moving between Orion and the Pleades.  
[..]
>me if what I saw is likely to be Halley's:
>
>Description: A  star-like spot with a fuzzy halo right next to the middle star
>in Orion's sword, and probably dimmer.  I could see the middle star with
>naked eye, but only with binocs could I see that there were really two (and
>the fuzz).
>

No, that is not Halley's comet.  It sounds more like M42, the Orion Nebula,
which IS the middle star of Orion's sword. 

Halley's comet will be quite close the the Pleiades during the next few
days. Through a good size pair of binoculars and with dark skies, they
should both be in the same field of view. It's path, from about Nov 14 to 18, 
is something like this (please excuse the crudity and lack of accurate
information, I'm doing this from memory - see the latest Sky & Telescope
or Astronomy magazine for a slightly more accurate drawing).
 
              <- about 1.5 degrees ->
 
                                 *
        ^         *     * 
        |        .               *
        N                  *     
        |
        |
 
                                           x
                                     x
                               x
                        x
                 x

The brightest of the Pleiades is first magnitude, Halley's is about 7th or 8th, 
making it over a hundred times fainter than the stars shown.  It will 
take a bit of effort to find, but if you examine (or draw) the star field on 
consecutive nights the motion will be apparent.