--- In comets-ml@yahoogroups.com, David Seargent <seargent@...> wrote:
>
>...The sight [of Ikeya-Seki] was magnificent. In the dark sky, the coma
appeared brighter than the earlier twilight views and looked small and dense. As
for the tail, this appeared (as John Bortle has written on several occasions to
this group) "solid", not diaphanous like the tail of a normal comet. And there
was little "normal" about Ikeya-Seki! Today, we would probably think of laser
beams or Star-Wars light sabres ... but this was back in 1965!!
> Now, I am certainly not saying that W3 will become as remotely spectacular as
I-S, but the lessons of 1965 are worth noting. The comet may become faint, but
the tail may well retain relatively high surface brightness for quite some time
and be impressive in coming days as it pulls out from the twilight (and
moonlight). Don't dismiss this comet just yet! There may still be surprises in
store.
> David
>

David is absolutely correct. I anticipate that the spectacle is only likely to
grow better with time as the tail moves out of the morning twilight. Keep in
mind that the brightness of a sungrazer's dust tail seems to fade much more
slowly than does that of the coma, following closer to a rate dictated by the
inverse square law. Likewise, Comet Lovejoy's tail is more-or-less still
approaching Earth as the comet retreats from the Sun, slowing the fading process
even further.

Go back and consult some of my earlier posts concerning the development of
Comet Ikeya-Seki's post-T dust tail. Such may well foreshadow the sort of
evolutionary path that the tail of Comet Lovejoy may see in days to come on a
somewhat more modest scale.

Folks, be assured that the show isn't over yet by any means.

J.Bortle