Forty-one years after the discovery of Comet Ikeya-Seki,
there is one thing that I still occasionally reminisce about. It is about
the music written by a Cuban composer Jose Caleyo living in Havana, when
Comet Ikeya-Seki began to show its long tail in morning twilight after
its perihelion passing on October 25, 1965. It is Jazz-style piano music
and I wanted to play it someday. However, forty years have already passed
and I haven't fulfilled my wish. There are two sheets of the hand-written
music and I have its cover and first sheet, but the second sheet is missing,
though I have been searching for it. I was very interested to know how
this Cuban Jazz musician perceived the appearance of Comet Ikeya-Seki and
how he conceived the music. All I could do was to follow the notes in the
score with my eyes feeling futile and it hasn't been played even once.
One month after the discovery, on October 21, 1965, the comet moved to
the south while brightening enormously after perihelion, and made an extraordinary
display in the Southern Hemisphere. The NHK (Japan's national broadcaster)
TV showed that in Katmandu an event was held to ward off evil and misfortune
in the presence of the king. They must have seen an awesome and frightening
appearance of the comet. I wonder if the composer Jose Caleyo has ever
performed it. It is possible that the music has been lying idle somewhere
until now waiting for the chance to be heard.
Mr. Oniwa and other two individuals tried to play this music
for the first time in Japan (it could be the first in the world?). The
music playable was only the 2-minute-long first half. Contrary to a calm
and peaceful image of the heavens, it is very lively and spirited. Unlike
some music which induces people to meditate looking at the starry sky,
it rather gives an impression that at the sudden appearance of a great
comet people were startled and frightened. Its energetic melody can be
interpreted as an image of the comet flying freely in the night sky. The
Music "Comet Ikeya-Seki" was recorded on a CD later and I play
it to the audience at my public talks. So far, it was performed at Kochi
and Oshu.
The music of "Ikeya-Seki"
This comet of the Kreutz family approached the sun to a distance
of 0.007 AU on October 21, 1965. It was 360,000 km from the surface of
the sun. Impacted by the extreme temperature of the sun and its gravity,
the comet's tail was curved as if wrapping around the sun. The corona's
one-million-degree gas tried to destroy and evaporate the comet instantly.
Nobody in the world doubted the ice-formed comet would be vaporized explosively.
However, the comet resisted the corona's attempt to destroy it and dispersed
the heat by evaporating furiously. In spite of this ordeal, the comet reappeared
from the other side of the sun not as a miserably scorched comet, but as
a magnificent and majestic comet. Many comets make suicidal dives into
the corona. It is an eternal mystery how Comet Ikeya-Seki survived.
On the day of the reappearance of Ikeya-Seki, it was reported
in Hawaii that the comet had been disintegrated. In Germany, a contrary
report was released that the survival of the comet had been confirmed after
its perihelion passage. Around the same time, the Norikura Solar Observatory
in Gifu had made frequent photographic observations from the time of the
sudden appearance of the comet in the corner of the coronagraph until it
entered the corona, then then disappearing behind the sun.
Comet Ikeya-Seki diving into the corona on October 21, 1965
Photo courtesy the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
The photo above is one of the last taken at 1:15 pm, immediately
before the perihelion passage.
Mr. Ike invented the "Ike Projection Box" getting an idea from this coronagraph, but didn't produce an expected result, probably because the observation was made past the optimal time as well as the difference in elevation between the coastal plain and tall mountain.
One day I had a chance to have a chat with Mr. Koichi Ike,
a long time after that "incident", and we enjoyed reminiscing
about those good old days. Whenever we met, we would talk about the "Ike
Projection Box" and the heroic stories of him persisting in the coffin-like
box for as long as three hours. I learned then that the box was a wooden
crate to be used to transport a refrigerator for his business.
A more important thing is Mr. Ike actually saw Comet Ikeya-Seki. At 6:30 am, 7 hours before the comet's perihelion passage, he walked up to Bandano-mori mountain in Susaki city with his 12.5cm comet seeker and saw Ikeya-Seki at the sunrise. According to him, it trailed a short tail twice the diameter of the sun and the nucleus was shining brightly in yellowish color. He kept the finding to himself thinking that observing with the projection box at my home should be the "main event".
Comet Ikeya-Seki had left and Mr. Ike himself had left his
hometown for a far-away place.
Sometimes Comet Ikeya-Seki is wrongly called "Comet
Sekiya-Ike". It happened in an NHK program and at a bank. At the bank
I was mistakenly called "Mr. Ike", while waiting. This will tell
you how active Mr. Ike was during the appearance of Comet Ikeya-Sek and
how often he was in the news.
The discovery of one comet made it possible for me to get
to know people around the world and form many friendships. I hope that
one day a great comet appears and gives the world bright happy message.