Wednesday, February 08, 2017

a triple non-event

Rhonda showed me a note on her smartphone. A piece on the full Moon, lunar eclipse, and a comet! I shuddered.

I explained, that while it's good to talk about astronomy and science, that this particular situation might set up people for disappointment.

The upcoming lunar eclipse was a penumbral and would, for most, be barely detectable. It would not be coppery as depicted in the accompanying photo.

And the comet (I assume 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova)... While large, it would be extremely challenging to see. Would require some magnification. And very dark skies. Which... ah... you can't do... when it's a full Moon!

Grumble, grumble.

I relayed my crying-wolf concern: repeated alerts to the public from which they feel dissatisfied will turn people off of astronomy.

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