Seems Panstar behaved just like it was thought it would, just hype period.
Since we're dealing with comets, I think Joe's skepticism might be
justified, at least a little. It's never a good idea to label one "Comet of the Century" so far ahead of perihelion- AND this early in the millenium. Such labels should only be applied after the comet has proven itself.
We can and should be hopeful, but I think the amount of press we're seeing on ISON this early is unjustified. PanSTARRS certainly proved that too much press buildup can lead to a letdown, at least for northern hemisphere viewers in this instance.
I'd like to see the "daylight comet" predictions toned-down, too. I've already seen people on this list imagining something that almost certainly won't materialize. Daylight comets are never as spectacular as the night-time apparitions. They are just visible, and usually just the coma and a very short section of tail, if any at all. There are exceptions, but they are very, very rare.
On Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 7:43 AM, Rodger C. Fry <rcfry@comcast.net> wrote:
Joe, Just keep in mind that ISON is still a very long ways off. The fact that the tail seams to diminish doesn't bother me at all.
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