Money, from the heavens above

[PeterM]

Just read International Astronomical Union Circular (IAUC) 9066 announcing that the Edgar Wilson award for 2009 will be split between 5 individual comet discoverers.
They are - Holmes (USA) Maticic (Slovenia) Ory (Switzerland) Itagaki (Japan) Dae-am Yi (Korea).
The award has a monetary component to it which unfortunately supernova discoveries do not, ah well. It is certainly interesting to read about the award at the site below and perhaps could help you to convince your better half to let you spend those extra dollars?

http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/special/EdgarWilson.html

A list of previous recipients can be found at -

http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/iau/speci...arWilson1.html

You will note Ice In Space member Terry Lovejoy (Comet Guy) was a recipient in 2007. In fact there have been quite a few Australian recipients over the years. I don't think Terry has retired early?
PeterM.

[Blue Skies (Jacquie)]

I saw a post from Terry just the other day - I think he's a bit young to retire! Probably more that he just hasn't had the cameras pointing in the right place at the right time. That's just the way comet catching crumbles.

[CometGuy]

Retire early...don't think so..LOL!

Funny how last years recipents were all from northern hemisphere, so either there were no southern comets or nobody saw them. Interestingly Comet Yi-Swan was as bright as mag 8 around discovery and could potentially have been found visually with binoculars.

I am searching more sky to deeper magnitudes these days, but the comet no 3 continues to eluded me

Terry

[PeterM]

I'm sure number 3 won't be too far away for Terry.
It is fascinating how kings, patrons etc have given substantial (at the time) rewards to comet discoverers of past years. I have read about King Frederick V1 of Denmark, who some 170 years ago gave solid gold medals for telescopic discoveries. The King of France offering Messier the equivalent of $200 for each discovery and some 100 odd years ago a HH Warner in the USA giving cash rewards to discoverers. I think it goes back even further that with rewards for discoverers of naked eye apparitions, harbingers, and portents apparently including land? I guess so long as you were on the side of the army that it brought the most luck to, otherwise you may have lost your head. So today the tradition of rewarding comet discoverers (criteria apply) continues with the Edgar Wilson award. Just as well we are more civilised now, otherwise the 2008 economic collapse etc might have seen all 5 in a bit of strife....
PeterM.