A Different Perspective from Morris at JPL:
Comet Observation Home Page
The Truth About Comet Lee
There have been some wild statements made about Comet Lee [officially known as C/1999H1
(Lee)]. These are simply bogus, false statements by people who must have some agenda other than
the truth. Given below is the truth...
o Comet Lee's orbit is not erratic. It is well-known. The comet will not hit the Earth or come any
place close to it. This also means that debris or an asteroid associated with the comet could not
endanger the Earth. Such "debris" would be left in the comet's orbit and would basically follow
the orbit. If the comet's orbit doesn't intersect the Earth's orbit (and it doesn't), it is not possible
for debris to hit the Earth. The closest the comet will come to the Earth is about 77 million miles
(the Sun is 93 million miles from Earth) at the end of September 1999. An orbital diagram is
posted below...see for yourself.
o Comet Lee (or any comet) will not cause coronal mass ejections. And Comet Lee's orbit is not
affected by them.
o The comet is not expected to become bright. It is not abnormally bright nor is it brightening at
an unusual rate. In fact, it is not expected to become a naked-eye object. It is currently near its
peak brightness. [Someone has quoted the parameter "n", which indicates the rate of a comet's
brightening with respect to its distance from the Sun, as being 5.4 for Comet Lee. This, they say, is
evidence that my statement above is incorrect. The fact is that values of n typically range from 2.5
to 6 for long period comets. Some short period comets have much higher values. I stand by my
statement that Comet Lee's brightness or variation in brightness is not unusual. I base this on
30-years of analyzing comet light curves.]
It seems every time we have a modestly bright comet, someone or group or tabloid will claim that the
comet is a threat to the Earth, has a spaceship traveling next to it or some other nonsense. They get
on the radio and call themselves "scientists." To them, those of us that provide legitimate
information on comets are obviously part of some grand conspiracy. If you are one that believes the
nonsense that these people promote, that is certainly your right. However, remember their
predictions. When they do not come true...and none of them came true with Comet
Hale-Bopp...perhaps next time you will not be so willing to believe the psuedo-scientific predictions
they make.
Charles S. Morris
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