# Newly discovered comet could outshine the moon in 2013 **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 30, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606 "2012-12-30T22:12:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2012, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/1 "2012-12-30T22:12:51Z")
[http://news.discovery.com/space/newly-found-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-121228.html](http://news.discovery.com/space/newly-found-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-121228.html) I wonder if it’ll actually survive the journey. It would certainly be quite the sight if we get to see it. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/2 "2012-12-31T09:59:30Z")
> [@CoastalMaineiac](#): > > [http://news.discovery.com/space/newly-found-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-121228.html](http://news.discovery.com/space/newly-found-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-121228.html) > > I wonder if it’ll actually survive the journey. It would certainly be quite the sight if we get to see it. I know what the ‘brighter than the moon’ means, but as it gets nearer, watch people claim it will appear “bigger than the moon”. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/3 "2012-12-31T10:21:26Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > I know what the ‘brighter than the moon’ means, but as it gets nearer, watch people claim it will appear “bigger than the moon”. Yeah, like the “Mars will be bigger than the moon” shit that used to be circulating. Or the “there will never be a month with five Sundays again for 800 years!” Stop. Take a breath, and think for a couple of seconds people. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/4 "2012-12-31T12:28:45Z")
I would say: don’t count on anything until it comes around the sun. This could be another Kohoutek. > **[Comet Kohoutek](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_Kohoutek)** > > Comet Kohoutek (formally designated C/1973 E1 and formerly as 1973 XII and 1973f)\[c\] is a comet that passed close to the Sun towards the end of 1973. Early predictions of the comet's peak brightness suggested that it had the potential to become one of the brightest comets of the 20th century, capturing the attention of the wider public and the press and earning the comet the moniker of "Comet of the Century". Although Kohoutek became rather bright, the comet was ultimately far dimmer than the ... True story: I was a little one and I still remember the letdown when the media in the old country was still using the old predicted brightness, the thing was that a few days when it was going to be at his brightest, Astronomers already had found that it was going to be a dud. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/5 "2012-12-31T12:36:30Z")
From the link: > [@](#): > > could be visible without binoculars or telescopes to skywatchers on Earth Underwhelming. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/6 "2012-12-31T12:40:50Z")
Hey, an omen is an omen. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/7 "2012-12-31T13:09:10Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > I know what the ‘brighter than the moon’ means, but as it gets nearer, watch people claim it will appear “bigger than the moon”. Since the Moon only spans 0.5 degrees of arc in the sky, and the comet will likely grow a tail, I’d say this is a fair expectation. IIRC, the last bright comet back in the late '90s spanned around 5 degrees of arc, the distance between the pointer stars in the Big Dipper. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/8 "2012-12-31T13:38:11Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > I know what the ‘brighter than the moon’ means, but as it gets nearer, watch people claim it will appear “bigger than the moon”. The tail of [Comet West](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_West) was _huge_. What I saw with the naked eye was much more impressive than [this](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Komet_West_-_Comet_West_-_Franz_Haar.JPG). Now West reached -3 magnitude (~Jupiter at its brightest). The full moon is -13. No way is it going to get that bright. The most I would dream for is -8. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/9 "2012-12-31T13:39:54Z")
That means dragons, that does. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/10 "2012-12-31T13:54:30Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Hey, an omen is an omen. Let the Doomsday prophesies begin; the History Channel awaits! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/11 "2012-12-31T14:17:07Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > That means dragons, that does. Doesn’t the comet have to be red? ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/12 "2012-12-31T15:10:53Z")
Great comets are almost never as great as predicted, but there is always hope. Having said that, if this DOES become a great or even good comet, haul you ass out into the boonies where its darker. It will make it so VERY much better. And pretty good comets only come around a few times in a lifetime. Great ones less than that. Don’t waste this chance if things pan out. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/13 "2012-12-31T15:17:01Z")
I find it disturbing that it was detected such a short time ago. If a similar object was on a collision course for Earth, that’s all the time we’d have to prepare or change its path. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/14 "2012-12-31T15:26:09Z")
Now you know why most astronomers don’t sleep at night. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/15 "2012-12-31T16:35:54Z")
“But there appears to be something in its way.” - most chilling line of an sf novel I’ve ever read. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/16 "2012-12-31T16:48:37Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > Now you know why most astronomers don’t sleep at night. –Golf Clap– ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2012, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/17 "2012-12-31T22:22:11Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > I find it disturbing that it was detected such a short time ago. If a similar object was on a collision course for Earth, that’s all the time we’d have to prepare or change its path. **Barman** : Did you say the world is coming to an end? Shouldn’t we all lie on the floor or put paper bags over our heads? **Ford** : If you like. **Barman** : Will it help? **Ford** : Not at all. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/18 "2013-01-01T01:29:56Z")
I’m curious about the Oort cloud. Is it a sphere around the sun, way wayyyy out there, or is it more of a disc? How did it form? What is it made of? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/19 "2013-01-01T02:06:38Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > I’m curious about the Oort cloud. Is it a sphere around the sun, way wayyyy out there, or is it more of a disc? How did it form? What is it made of? [Let Me Google That For You](http://lmgtfy.com/?q=oort+cloud) ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2013, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606/20 "2013-01-01T06:00:17Z")
Emphasis added: “Newly discovered comet could outshine the moon in 2013” “Comets are like cats; they have tails, and they do precisely what they want.” -David H. Levy, co-discoverer of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, January 1994. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/newly-discovered-comet-could-outshine-the-moon-in-2013/645606.md?page=2)