[Outbackmanyep]

Originally Posted by bkm2304

I just called Shigeki Murikami and congratulated him on his second discovery. He stayed with us over Christmas but it poured for his whole stay and we didn't see a thing. Shigeki is a dedicated visual hunter of comets in the great tradition of Japanese masters of comet hunting - Seki, Ikea, Honda... He gets up at 1 or 2 am, drives to a dark site, and searches - often in sub zero temperatures with snow on the ground. A snow hydrologist with the Japanese government, Shigeki has a very Zen approach to hunting - "when looking for comets, don't look for them". - think about it!

Richard

Hi Richard,
Thats great to hear, it takes a lot of hours to nab one visually if you're dedicated. I would not say this was "lucky" because that would be reserved for someone like Mr Bopp (Hale-Bopp fame) from the story regarding that comet. It is a very rare thing indeed for an amateur to discover a comet these days visually, this is the 2nd instance that i know of where Saturn has been nearby during a discovery. David Levy discovered one in 2006 (P/2006 T1 Levy) not far from Saturn!

A remarkable feat in the age of electronic survey! Well done Mr Murikami!