Comethunting during eclipse - an unknown object
During the total solar eclipse of 30 June 1973 in Kenia, a new object was photographed. A repeat for the 1948 Eclipse Comet? The object was photographed with different cameras and was visible on more negatives or plates. Till now, the object did not found his origin. It is called the object Dossin-Heck.
Andre Heck in a personal mail to Patrick Poitevin: "There is no Comet Dossin-Heck; there has been an object Dossin-Heck discovered during an eclipse in Kenya in 1973; albeit it was a real object (appearing on various exposures obtained by two different cameras), its identification has not been fully ascertained."
During the same eclipse, a few other observers tried to hunt for comets. Henry C. Courten of the Dowling College Oakdale, New York made 3 short exposures with f/7.1 and f/5.0 cameras (focal length 1200 and 1000 mm and exposure times 0.1 and 2.0 seconds). He also performed the same experiments during the eclipses of 1963, 1966, 1968, 1970 and 1972. Exposures from 3 different places to obtain any object 0.5 AU near the Sun. The experiment was without any success. He captured stars of magnitude between 6 and 9.
E. M. Pittich of Skalnate Plesso, Tjech Republic, performed similar experiments during the same eclipse. He observed from El Meki, Niger and made exposures 6 to 24 degrees around the Sun. Six cameras with f/2.8 180 mm lenses and one f/2.8 80 mm was used. He only photographed stars and planets brighter than magnitude 4. The object Dossin-Heck was not captured.
References:
H. C. Courten, Sky & Telescope, Letters, June 1976
Solar Eclipse 1973 Bulletin, National Science Foundation, Washington D.C. 20550, Final Report nr. 5
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