[meteorite-list] How to Watch July 4 Comet Impact

[MexicoDoug at aol.com]

I wrote:

>and will be quite bright (Mercury 0th magnitude - same as a bright  Mars and 
>2.5X more than Saturn).  Not to mention Venus near her brightest  ever at 
>-4th magnitude.  
 
"Venus near her brightest ever", no.  Mercury today, June 3, is  at her 
conjunction with Earth on the opposite side of the Sun as we are.   So today 
Mercury is at her brightest of the year and I had that on my  mind.  

But Venus is always so bright it doesn't matter, and most of  us haven't seen 
her in a while in the night sky.  Venus will actually be 40  times brighter 
than Mercury on June 27 during the event.  For those lucky  and creative enough 
to have viewing angles from earth to get a look at Mercury  in earlier June, 
Mercury will be bright.   Today June 3, if you could  only glimpse her, she is 
about as bright as Jupiter to us!  (The inner  planets are brightest at 
conjunction - when furthest from earth on the opposite  side of the Sun making it 
usually impossible to see, while the asteroids and  outer planets are brightest 
at opposition, the same side of the Sun as us and  the whole surface back to 
us.)

Just imagine how bright Venus is as seen  from Mercury when they are in 
opposition!)  The answer is -6.7, just about  the same Earth looks to Venusian 
observers on a clear day:), with our Luna being  as bright as Jupiter to treated 
Venusians...  And this Venusian view of  Earth and the Moon view from Venus 
will approximated, though 3 times dimmer and  with a very comparable but somewhat 
larger separation, with that great view of  Venus and Mercury on June 27 that 
I've been yapping all about...Talk about  unfair ... Earth from Venus is 7 
times brighter than Venus from Earth at the  maxes and that doesn't even 
consider Luna.  Anyway, There are probably 20  different asteroids this year that 
will be brighter than the Comet at a +10  magnitude before impact on July 4, and 
comets are harder to find than  asteroids.  So here's hoping that fireworks 
are in store, though if nothing  fancy happens, hoping at least we get a few 
copper meteorites out of this sooner  or later...
Saludos, Doug