This post is one of the best I've read here on Steemit, excellent work. How a writeup on comets from someone who has actually discovered comets isn't at the top of Steemit I'll never know. In particular I had no idea that the sodium tails existed (or even that sodium was present on comets at all). I often wonder what kind of objects are out there in the Oort cloud that we don't see. Keep up the great work!
I'm curious - how did you end up discovering a new comet? Were you specifically looking for a comet, or did you find it while observing something else?
Thank you so much @proteus-h I try my best. It takes me a few days to put these together, do some of the graphics, etc. Time consuming but enjoyable and a good distraction from everyday life! You don't do too badly yourself, I was actually thinking about your Aluminium battery idea just before while driving from the shops!
To answer the new comet discovery, I actually started writing about that with this article but it started to get too big because I had to introduce what a comet was, as well as why an amateur can still find them given big budget professional surveys are also sweeping the sky. The original article is coming, I just want to do it right and make it interesting without overwhelming the reader. For the time being let me answer your question simply: I deliberately search for comets and have found 6 with my own telescopes, and 11 with data from the SOHO spacecraft. Kindest, Terry