What do a rattlesnake and mountain lion have to do with next week's close encounter of planet Earth with Comet Wirtanen, the so called “Christmas Comet?”
No, not Christmas trivia, but singlehanded sailing related. “Just the facts, ma'am.” Bright turquoise-green Comet Wirtanen was digitally photographed (above) last week above a church bell tower in Catalonia, Spain by Juan Carlos Casado.
In the 1940's, 50's, & 60's, Wisconsin born astronomer Carl Wirtanen, with his young family, lived on Mt. Hamilton, just east and high above San Jose. On the summit of Mt. Hamilton is the historical and renowned Lick Observatory. Wirtanen, the Senior Observer at Lick Observatory, was highly skilled in use of the telescopes and photographic plates, and during his tenure discovered at least 5 comets and 8 asteroids.
A comet Carl Wirtanen first photographed (and discovered) on Jan. 17, 1948, was ultimately named after his new son Alan, “Comet Wirtanen”
Comet Wirtanen will pass Earth at 7.1 million miles next Monday, the 20th closest approach of any comet to Earth since the 9th Century AD. Despite Comet Wirtanen's proximity and bright green color, it will take a dark and clear sky to see with a naked eye the diffuse glow of the head of this “dirty snowball.”
A contributor to this SSS Forum remembers, as a junior high student living in San Jose, visiting Lick Observatory, meeting Carl Wirtanen, and peering through the Observatory's powerful telescope into the inky blackness of the night sky, the glow of San Jose far below darkened by the often present cloudiness of the coastal marine layer.
Nearby to Lick Observatory were small homes for the observatory scientists, as well as a one room school house, and a dirt baseball diamond. Young Alan Wirtanen, Carl's son for whom the 1948 comet is named, recalled to me a few years ago that after school let out, Alan and friends would meet at the nearby Mt. Hamilton baseball diamond. During pick-up games, it was understood no one would touch or stand atop the first base rock. Why? Because a rattlesnake lived underneath. Alan also recalled being instructed by his parents not to wander on his way home as a local mountain lion would often follow and hang out on the Wirtanen's porch..
After 1996, on his days off, Carl Wirtanen and wife Edith enjoyed sailing/racing on Monterey Bay with their 2 kids, Alan and Jeannie. Sailing on the family Cal 2-24 became a natural for the kids, and Alan ultimately used his many talents to help develop Santa Cruz boat building during the heyday of Ultra Lights.
Alan, of rattlesnake and mountain lion association, was (and still is) a highly respected local Santa Cruz boat builder, at one time working for Bill Lee, Moore Brothers, and George and Lyn Olson's Pacific Yachts. Alan was associated with the design and construction of many iconic Santa Cruz yachts including MERLIN, Santa Cruz 27's, the Moore 24, the Olson 30 and 25 and Jester Dinghies.
These days Alan enjoys being on the the cutting edge of dirt boat (land yacht) design and racing. His current dirt boat is the fastest of any course racing dirt boat, regularly reaching speeds of 70 knots at dry lake regattas in Nevada and E. Oregon. Even without sails, Alan's dirt boat is fast, winning the Sand Hill Challenge for the fastest “gravity car” (think hi-tech Soap Box Derby with no expense spared) on the downhill course in the Palo Alto foothills.
If you visit Santa Cruz Harbor for Wednesday night sails, you'll likely encounter Alan Wirtanen near the hoist, watching many of his builds being launched. And that's the short story of how the Christmas Comet was named and associated with Santa Cruz sailing.
