http://www.svherald.com/archives/index.inn?loc=detail&doc=/2002/March/14-3507-news1.txt Stargazer finds comet BY LYN SOUTHERLAND Sierra Vista Herald March 14, 2002 PALOMINAS - With his eyes on the skies and the strains of "Some Enchanted Evening" playing in the background, Doug Snyder made the discovery of a lifetime early Monday morning. The amateur stargazer discovered a new comet streaking through the Aquila Constellation in the heart of the Summer Milky Way galaxy. During the past couple of weeks, the retired Palominas resident had been scanning the skies with his 20-inch reflector telescope in hopes of finding something new. At 3:40 on Monday morning, he happened across "a little gray smudge" nestled in the Aquila Constellation. He did some quick research using a sky atlas and numerous databases, but couldn't locate any references to his find. Trying not to get his hopes too high, Snyder checked the comet's location again. "The comet had moved a bit, but not too much, and I found it again fairly easily. Dawn was coming, and my view of the comet was fading, but by now I was becoming more sure of my discovery," Snyder said. He immediately e-mailed news of his discovery to the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams, the Harvard-affiliated clearinghouse for new discoveries. It was 4 a.m. and the world was being told the latest space find had been made at a small observatory in Southeastern Arizona. Several anxious hours later, he received a reply. CBAT has spent the interim time researching his find, verifying Snyder's experience and credentials, and locating the comet. CBAT asked for additional information, which Snyder provided, and then he waited. "It's been a whirlwind couple of days," Snyder said. "But yesterday (Tuesday), they finally let me know that I had really discovered a new comet." He will share some of the credit with a Japanese amateur astronomer, Murakami, who independently sighted the comet, albeit several hours after Snyder. As Snyder waited, he recorded his discovery and his emotions in his astronomy journal. It was then that he realized what song had been playing in the background at the time of his discovery. He says the lyrics to Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Some Enchanted Evening" were perfect: "Some enchanted evening, you may see a stranger You may see a stranger across a crowded room, an' somehow you'll know, you'll know even then, that somewhere you'll see her again and again." Snyder is no stranger to the romance of the stars. He first became interested in the night skies as a young man growing up in Hawaii. "I spent a lot of balmy tropical nights on the beach under the stars. It just grew as a general interest . . . I didn't really become serious about it until 20 years ago when we got our first good telescope," he said. After retirement, Snyder and his wife, Jean, moved to Palominas from San Jose, Calif. They were drawn to the area by the beauty of the Huachucas and the San Pedro Valley, the tightknit community of Palominas and, of course, the dark night skies. After settling into their new home and connecting with other local amateur astronomers, Snyder began work on creating his own observatory. The Palominas Star Haven Observatory was dedicated in January 2001. Snyder is an active member of the Huachuca Astronomy Club and a member of the University Foundation of Sierra Vista involved in the planning and fund raising for Observatory Project 2002 at University of Arizona South. "The neat thing about being out here, and being into astronomy, is that there's so many other people here that are into it, at least a little bit. This discovery should spark some more interest in astronomy, especially in kids . . . they're so curious about everything," Snyder said. Snyder said people always ask astronomers if they believe in "aliens." He said, "I see so many stars, a countless number of stars similar to our sun. I have no doubt that there are other civilizations. I believe there is life outside our solar system." Snyder plans to continue searching the night skies, just for the pleasure of it, just to enjoy the romance of seeing the heavens. And he'll probably be humming "Some Enchanted Evening." --------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.space.com/spacewatch/new_comet_020316.html Amateur Astronomer Sights New Comet By Associated Press 16 March 2002 SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (AP) _ Amateur stargazer Doug Snyder had spent days scanning the skies with his 20-inch reflector telescope hoping to find something new when he happened upon ``a little gray smudge.'' The little smudge proved to be a very big deal: It was a new comet. The Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams _ the Harvard University-affiliated clearinghouse for new discoveries _ confirmed Tuesday that Snyder was the first person to sight the comet Monday as it streaked through the Aquila Constellation in the heart of the Summer Milky Way, which is a specific section of the Milky Way galaxy. A Japanese amateur astronomer, Shigeki Murakami, sighted the comet a few hours later and is considered a co-discoverer. The find was dubbed Comet Snyder-Murakami. ``It's been a whirlwind couple of days,'' Snyder told the Sierra Vista Herald. Snyder said that after sighting the smudge early Monday, he did some research using a sky atlas and numerous databases, but couldn't locate any references to his find. He checked the comet's location again. ``The comet had moved a bit, but not too much, and I found it again fairly easily. Dawn was coming, and my view of the comet was fading, but by now I was becoming more sure of my discovery,'' Snyder said. According to the bureau, Comet Snyder-Murakami was the third comet to be discovered visually during the past year. ______________________________________________ Meteorite-list mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/meteorite-list
