New comet sighted in Rhodesia

The Herald 8 January 1970

A large number of Salisbury people saw the Tago-Sato-Kosaka comet soon after 8pm last night.

Most of the people who telephoned The Rhodesia Herald to report their sighting said they had seen it with the naked eye though with binoculars or telescope it was seen much more clearly. The comet was seen to the South-west of the city.

One man described it as looking like “a small fiery ball with a long misty tail, really rather spectacular.”

On Tuesday night it was sighted in Bulawayo and in the Enkeldoorn area.

Mr. J. J. Hall, chairman of Bulawayo’s Astronomy Club, said club members had sighted the comet on Tuesday night through binoculars.

The comet was sighted in the South-west, about 20 degrees above the horizon. It has a 20 degree tail.

Mr Bruce Brown telephoned The Rhodesia Herald yesterday afternoon to say he had sighted the comet on Tuesday night while travelling between Enkeldoorn and Beatrice.

He gave the same position as reported from Bulawayo. Mr Brown said the comet had a long tail but was rather indistinct. It was a naked eye sighting.

Mr Arthur Morrisby, a Salisbury astronomer, said clouds were making viewing difficult from Salisbury but people living out of town-away from city lights-might have a better chance.

He said the comet would become less visible from now on. The new moon tends to make viewing harder and the comet is approaching the sun.

The comet was named after three Japanese astronomers who discovered it.