The Workington No.4 was wiped out by Jonas B Andersen in the penultimate race at Redcar on Thursday and still felt secondhand for Saturdays crunch clash against the Tigers.

But six points from Williamson against some of the toughest riders in the division proved vital as Comets came from behind to stun their rivals.

Williamson said: It was a really tough meeting for me, still feeling the effects from the crash at Redcar. Id still not fully recovered from a big spill I had at Edinburgh and then had that to deal with.

I was happy that I managed to soldier through and get six points against one of the top teams in the league. For us to come back like we did was fantastic for the team.

It looked like it was all over and, for once, the tactical ride went in our favour, then me and Ty got a good 5-1 after it and all of a sudden we were right back in it.

We got an away point at Redcar then got a win on Saturday, so thats four points from two meetings which is putting us back up there.

Despite the weekend, Williamson admitted it is still difficult to gauge how well they are doing with up to 11 meetings in hand on their rivals.

Williamson has stepped up into the main body of the team this season without the luxury of regular meetings as rain-offs have plagued Workington, but he feels he is getting there after a run of strong displays.

I knew it was going to be tough and not having the meetings hasnt helped, but Ive been consistently doing what Id say is the job expected of a No.4, he said.

Im scoring four points or more and most people in the main body of the team have been riding for years and thats the scores they are getting.

Meanwhile, Craig Cook, Ty Proctor, Thomas Jorgensen and Mason Campton will represent Comets in the SGB Championship Fours at Peterborough on Sunday, with Williamson named as the reserve.

Workington have been drawn in group A with the hosts and Edinburgh, Sheffield and Scunthorpe.

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Matt Williamson over the moon as he helps Workington Comets to victory after his battle to be fit - News & Star

AMHERST After staging a dramatic seventh-inning rally just to earn a place in the finals of the inaugural Amherst Baseball July Classic on Sunday, the host Comets were forced to settle for the runner-up trophy.

Medinas Kyle Maruna threw a complete game six-hitter and Bryce Vogels single drove in Nathan Lucarelli with the winning run in the sixth inning as the Bees defeated Amherst 2-1 in the championship game.

The Comets scored their only run in the first inning when Jacob Lezon singled home Jake Hart, who drew a one-out walk. Amhersts inability to score over the final six innings overshadowed the fine performance of sophomore pitcher Justin Hritsko.

Hritsko worked out of trouble in almost every inning to hold the Bees to two runs. Although Hritsko allowed 12 hits, he forced the Bees to strand a runner in scoring position in every inning except the fifth.

When Hritsko wasnt pitching this weekend, he was playing shortstop where he turned in a number of fine defensive plays.

I was a little nervous pitching at this level, Hritsko said. I just went out and tried my hardest and threw strikes and allowed my defense to make outs. I feel like I really improved this weekend and hopefully showed I can play at a higher level.

Amherst was nearly a spectator at its own party as it trailed 5-4 going into its final at-bat in the semifinal against Willoughby South.

Against all odds, and thanks to the Rebels defense making a huge mental error, the Comets scored five runs with two outs in the top of the seventh inning to steal a 9-5 win.

With two outs and the bases loaded, senior Gabe Solak hit a popup to the left side of the infield for what looked to be the final out of the game. Instead, two Willoughby South fielders converged and both appeared to lose the ball in the sun. As the ball dropped harmlessly onto the infield dirt, Kyle Dalzall and Hart scored to put Amherst on top 6-5.

Junior Connon Emch followed with a triple down the right-field line to score two more runs. Then Emch stole home as Christian Velez, who walked after the triple, got caught in a rundown between first and second base.

The improvements I saw in our team from Wednesday to Sunday was just phenomenal, Amherst coach Matt Rositano said. Justin (Hritsko) pitched really well today. Some of our guys were seeing varsity pitching for the first time this weekend and they had good approaches at the plate. You could see the game really slow down for the young guys from the beginning of the week until today. I was very encouraged with what I saw this weekend.

Medina advanced to the championship game with a 7-5 win against Canal Fulton Northwest in Sundays other semifinal at Penfield.

Solak doubled to lead off the seventh inning against the Bees but Maruna retired the next three hitters in order to end the game.

Rositano said he intends to make the July Classic an annual event and hopefully expand the field beyond six days.

Ohio High School Athletic Association rules permit teams to play or practice together with their coaches for 10 days in the offseason between June 1 and July 31. With that in mind, Rositano said he is exploring the possibility of making next years July Classic a week-long event.

Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

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Amherst Baseball July Classic: Comets pull off wild comeback to win semifinal, but can't muster same magic against ... - Chronicle Telegram

NASA scientists say a new study proves there are seven times as many big and potentially dangerous comets flying through deep space than previously thought.

The study analyzed data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft that tracks long-period comets (LPCs) that take at least 200 years to orbit around the sun. WISE data showed far more LPCs that potentially pose a serious impact risk to Earth.

Previously the sense was that for every 100 asteroid impacts (of all sizes) we get 1 comet impact, Dr. Joseph A. Nuth, a senior asteroid scientist at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. Now that we know there are more LPCs for every 100 asteroid impacts we might get 5 comet impacts.

Astronomers previously gave broad estimates of the number of LPCs in the solar system, but researchers didnt have a good way to detect them since they were obscured by clouds of gas and dust.

Gravitational forces can move LPCs back into the inner solar system, potentially putting them on a collision course with Earth. An LPC impact would be devastating.

A comet impact is, on average, much more devastating than an asteroid impact, Nuth said. Think BBs and Bullets vs. Howitzers and Nukes.

Comets are rarer than asteroids, but can carry more than 100 times the energy of a typical asteroid. An LPC would likely impact Earth at a much higher velocity than other space objects.

[A] higher velocity impact would release more energy and therefore would be worse, Paul Chodas, manager of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, told TheDCNF. This is offset somewhat by the fact that comets are less dense than asteroids: the energy release of a comet impact would be less than that of a similarly sized asteroid impact if the velocities were the same.

The study also determined that LPCs are more dangerous than more conventional asteroids or comets because they are twice the size on average.

Yes, a body twice the size has eight times the mass of a smaller body and therefore delivers eight times the kinetic energy if all other factors are equal, Nuth said. The impact energy is proportional to the velocity squared. So a comet moving three times the average asteroid velocity would impact with nine times the energy.

The potential impact of a long-period comet would be more hazardous than that of a Jupiter family comet both because the long-period comets are more likely to be larger, and because they follow orbits that would impact at higher velocities, Chodas said.

The final reason researchers thinkLPCs are dangerous is their relative stealthiness compared to other space rocks. Detecting an LPC on a collusion course with Earth would be more difficult thatspottinga more conventional near-Earth asteroid.

The larger distance of comets, and the long orbital periods affect the warning time more than higher velocities: the generally larger distance of comets make the tracking observations less effective (since they are angular measurements), and the longer orbital periods mean that we dont have multiple opportunities to see these objects at closer ranges, Chodas said.The distance at which a comet is discovered depends largely on the activity level of the comet.

The difficulties inherent in detecting LPCs mean that NASA would likely have far less warning that one was on a collision course with Earth. The comet Siding Spring was detected on a trajectory that would strike the planet Mars in October of 2014, just 22 months after its discovery.

Since Comet Siding Spring was quite active, it was discovered at a distance of 7 AU, about two years before it passed very close to Mars, Chodas said. A less active long-period comet might be discovered only a year before entering the inner Solar System. Establishing a precise trajectory for the comet would be challenging and likely take several months, so the warning time would likely be less than a year.

Twenty-twomonths warning is far less than NASA scientists think theyd need to intercept an incoming comet.The best way to stop an asteroid or comet from hitting the Earth on such short notice may be to send a spacecraft up to intercept it. But even then, NASA researchers think they would need at least five years to construct a reliable spacecraft and man it.

The case of Siding Spring is a reasonable example: much less than 5 years is a good guess, Nuth said. Siding Spring came in from the celestial pole and was not spotted until it began to exhibit a coma. A larger body would show a coma at similar distances.

Earth is just as vulnerable to LPCs and other space rocks as Mars nearly was to the Siding Spring Comet. Earths closer proximity to the Sun wouldnt make it easier to detect a long-period comet on a collision course, according to NASA researchers.

The discovery time is dictated mostly by the comets distance from the Sun and how active the comet is, Chodas said. If Comet Siding Spring were headed for an encounter with Earth, its discovery time would be the same.

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NASA Scientists: A Lot More Dangerous Comets Exist Than We Thought - The Daily Caller

AMHERST For four innings Friday, Amherst senior Anthony Berrios was in control, working out of jams and keeping the potent St. Ignatius offense off the board.

Then that control was gone.

The Wildcats scored five runs in the fifth on one hit and five walks to roll to a 10-1 win over the Comets in the Amherst Summer Baseball Classic.

We talk all the time about pressuring other teams and forcing them to make plays, St. Ignatius coach Brad Ganor said. You dont draw it up to score five runs in an inning on one hit but Ill take it. It was a well-played game. It gives us energy together and play well one final time before we get into our offseason program. If we do well here it makes the offseason that much easier.

Berrios worked out of trouble in the third and fourth innings, both times getting strikeouts to end threats with runners in scoring position. He ran out of luck in the fifth inning.

After allowing a leadoff single to shortstop A.J. Gaich, Berrios committed a throwing error to put runners on second and third. Berrios then walked the next four hitters before giving way to relievers Dylan McCrann and Kyle Dalzell.

I thought Anthony pitched really well, Amherst coach Matt Rositano said. Those first four innings he was lights out. He was around the plate all night. We tried to give him a chance to work out of trouble in the fifth but it just kind of snowballed on him.

With the win, St. Ignatius (2-0) earned a trip to Sundays semifinals. Amherst (0-2) will need to beat Medina today then await the results of the Keystone-Canal Fulton Northwest game to see if it makes it to the semifinals. Medina beat Willoughby South 4-0 in Fridays other game.

Austin Jones, an Amherst resident and St. Ignatius junior, was a key for the Wildcats, driving in the games first run with bases-loaded walk and going 3-for-4 with a run scored and a pair of RBIs.

The Comets scored their only run in the bottom of the fifth when Christian Velez hit a one-out single to center field, advanced to second on a balk and scored on T.J. Statons single.

St. Ignatius squashed any hope of an Amherst comeback when it took advantage of three Comets errors to score five more runs in the seventh inning.

Gaich had the big hit, a two-run double to deep left field.

The biggest thing I want to get out of these games this week is to get some of my younger guys some action, Rositano said. We had four sophomores playing today. They see the speed of the game, the intensity of the game and its something they can build on.

Comets catcher Eric Ritter was 2-for-3 with singles to left field his first two at-bats. Gaich also had three hits for the Wildcats.

It was fun having a chance to come back and compete against the kids I grew up with and played baseball with, Jones said. We had a good team effort and it was a good learning experience for us.

Contact Todd Shapiro at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

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Amherst Baseball July Classic: Comets walks help St. Ignatius get ... - Chronicle Telegram

North Stanly High School hosted its third annual community night on Tuesday at the Comets home stadium in New London.

North Stanly welcomed the South Rowan Raiders and the East Montgomery Eagles for the 7-on-7 scrimmage this year.

The 7-on-7 scrimmage event allowed coaches to assess their teams strengths and weaknesses for the upcoming season. The noncontact games highlighted the teams passing skills most of all.

On the field I saw three teams that were getting ready for the season, said North head coach Scott Crisco of the scrimmages. This is our last chance to really work on our passing game.

David Yow, head coach of South Rowan, noted the event allowed him to test out his three potential starting quarterbacks against strong competition.

It was very well ran, said Yow. We got a lot of good competition so that was something we were looking forward to.

Anytime we get a chance to compete against other people we can see what we need to work on, he added.

While coaches took notes for the upcoming season, the event also, as the name suggests, provided an outing to foster the community Comet pride.

I saw a lot of community involvement (tonight), a lot of the youth here which is why we put this on. For our football youth, said Crisco.

The community night brings together Comets of all ages. The event invites the North Stanly youth football team and cheerleaders out to meet their high school counterparts.

What we are trying to do is get our youth league involved with our high school, said Todd Helms, president of youth football and defensive coach for the high school team. We feel like if we can establish a good foundation from the youth league, our high school will benefit.

He shares his presidential duties with his wife, Jennie.

Jennie noted more than 50 youth football players and cheerleaders attended on Tuesday to meet and greet with the high school players and cheerleading squad.

The youth loves it and we had good numbers come out, said Jennie Helms. They all get their little T-shirts signed. So theyre very excited about it.

Investing time with events for the youth, such as community night and the youth football minicamp last week, has proved successful in bringing more youth to the programs.

We also see a lot of people from outside our area trying to get into our district because of how were running it, said Todd Helms. As long as were producing a beneficial, positive attitude then everybody comes this way.

In the last few years the youth leagues have blossomed as a reaction to how the programs are run, Todd Helms said.

Our cheer has absolutely exploded, he said. Several years ago cheer was really down so weve tried to merge that back together and its just taken off.

The youth programs range from rising kindergarteners to sixth-graders. According to Todd Helms, the youth football coaches begin introducing the youth to the same plays the high school uses, establishing a strong foundation at a younger age.

Even our youth league coaches are running the same offenses and defenses that were running so that whenever they get to the high school level the terminology is already there, he said.

The North Stanly youth football and cheerleading hosted its second annual powderpuff game on Saturday night at the high school stadium. Look for more coverage of the game in a future edition of the SNAP.

To submit story ideas, contact Karlen Lambert at karlen@stanlynewspress.com or (704)982-2121 ext. 21.

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Comets' youth, high school squads converge - Stanly News & Press

By: PTI | Washington | Published:July 27, 2017 4:21 pm Since long-period comets spend most of their time far from our area of the solar system, many will never approach the Sun in a persons lifetime. (Source: NASA)

Long period comets that take more than 200 years to make one revolution around the Sun -may be up to seven times more common than previously thought, NASA scientists say. Since long-period comets spend most of their time far from our area of the solar system, many will never approach the Sun in a persons lifetime.

Those that travel inward from the Oort Cloud a group of icy bodies beginning roughly 300 billion kilometres away from the Sun can have periods of thousands or even millions of years.

NASAs WISE spacecraft, scanning the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, has delivered new insights about the distant wanderers that are notoriously difficult to study. Scientists found that there are about seven times more long-period comets measuring at least one kilometre across than had been predicted previously.

They also found that long-period comets are on average up to twice as large as Jupiter family comets, whose orbits are shaped by Jupiters gravity and have periods of less than 20 years. Researchers also observed that in eight months, three to five times as many long-period comets passed by the Sun than had been predicted.

The number of comets speaks to the amount of material left over from the solar systems formation, said James Bauer, a research professor at the University of Maryland, College Park.

We now know that there are more relatively large chunks of ancient material coming from the Oort Cloud than we thought, said Park, lead author of the study published in the Astronomical Journal.

The Oort Cloud is too distant to be seen by current telescopes, but is thought to be a spherical distribution of small icy bodies at the outermost edge of the solar system. The density of comets within it is low, so the odds of comets colliding within it are rare.

Long-period comets that WISE observed probably got kicked out of the Oort Cloud millions of years ago. The observations were carried out during the spacecrafts primary mission before it was renamed NEOWISE and reactivated to target near-Earth objects (NEOs).

Our study is a rare look at objects perturbed out of the Oort Cloud, said Amy Mainzer, from NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the US.

They are the most pristine examples of what the solar system was like when it formed, said Mainzer, principal investigator of the NEOWISE mission.

The results reinforce the idea that comets that pass by the Sun more often tend to be smaller than those spending much more time away from the Sun.

That is because Jupiter family comets get more heat exposure, which causes volatile substances like water to sublimate and drag away other material from the comets surface as well.

The existence of so many more long-period comets than predicted suggests that more of them have likely impacted planets, delivering icy materials from the outer reaches of the solar system. The results will be important for assessing the likelihood of comets impacting our solar systems planets, including Earth.

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Large, distant comets more common than thought: NASA | The ... - The Indian Express

July 29, 2017 An image from the Magellan 6.5m telescope of the comet discovered by theAll Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN) team, which they have named ASASSN1. Credit: Image is courtesy of Nidia Morrell and Benjamin Shappee.

Carnegie's Benjamin Shappee is part of a team of scientists, including an Australian amateur astronomer, which discovered a new comet last week.

Called the All Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae (ASAS-SN), the international collaboration, which is headquartered at the Ohio State University, uses a network of eight 14-centimeter telescopes around the world to scan the visible sky every two or three nights looking for very bright supernovae.

But this time out they found something elsea comet.

Jose Prieto, a former Carnegie postdoc now a professor at Universidad Diego Portales in Chile, was the first ASAS-SN team member to notice the bright, moving object.

Prieto described the first step of the discovery: "While I was scanning the images obtained the night of July 19, I noticed this light source was different from the typical transient sources we discoverslightly extended with respect to normal stars and moving between consecutive images that were obtained within minutes of each other. Checking the catalog of known moving objectsasteroids and cometsdid not give any known object at the position of the source."

The ASAS-SN team realized the object he was looking at was most likely something unknown, which was confirmed soon afterward by additional images from one of the team's amateur astronomer members in Australia, Joseph Brimacombe.

"Comets move so fast that even being able to see it in Chile and Australia in the same night was a real challenge," said Shappee, who is a founding member of ASAS-SN. "Without Joseph's observation, the next night would have been much more difficult, since we would only have had a rough idea where to look."

Using their network of telescopes, the team followed the comet's trajectory for three days and noted it significantly brightened over this period. Then it faded slightly when they observed it again after another three days had passed. It's possible that this was due to what's called an outburst, a sudden increase in brightness caused by an ejection of dust and gas that temporarily increases the size of the envelope of material that surrounds a comet's solid, icy nucleus.

Shappee added: "comet ASASSN1 is approaching our inner Solar System right now and will be for several months. It should remain an interesting object for sky gazers the rest of the year."

Explore further: Most-luminous supernova ever discovered

A team of astronomers, including Carnegie's Benjamin Shappee, Nidia Morrell, and Ian Thompson, has discovered the most-luminous supernova ever observed, called ASAS-SN-15lh. Their findings are published in Science.

Comet 73P/Schwassmann-Wachmann has experienced a breakup on its journey past the Earth on its way toward the Sun. On the night of February 12th, Slooh members using the company's telescopes in Chile were able to view the ...

Earlier this week, Slooh member Bernd Ltkenhner and Slooh astronomer Paul Cox were able to image the newly discovered Comet C/2016 R3 (Borisov) under extraordinary conditions. The comet had been close to the Sun since ...

Though not visible to the naked eye or even with binoculars, the green-tailed Comet 45P/Honda-Mrkos-Pajdusakova (HMP) did not escape the gaze of the world-renowned Arecibo Observatory. Scientists from the University of Arizona's ...

If you are away from the bustle of the city these holidays, then try your luck at spotting a faint comet in the northern sky.

It was 45 years ago when astronomer Klim Churyumov and Svetlana Gerasimenko, one of his researchers, unwittingly began a new chapter in the history of space exploration.

August 21st will bring a history-making opportunity for the entire United States. On that day, every person in the country, including Hawaii and Alaska, will have an opportunity to witness at least a partial solar eclipse ...

Carnegie's Benjamin Shappee is part of a team of scientists, including an Australian amateur astronomer, which discovered a new comet last week.

A three-man space crew from Italy, Russia and the United States on Friday arrived at the International Space Station for a five-month mission Friday.

NASA scientists have definitively detected the chemical acrylonitrile in the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan, a place that has long intrigued scientists investigating the chemical precursors of life.

(Phys.org)A team led by David Kipping of Columbia University has spotted what might be the first evidence of an exomoon. They have written a paper describing their findings and have uploaded it to the arXiv preprint server.

A Soyuz space capsule successfully blasted off for the International Space Station on Friday, carrying an American astronaut, a Russian cosmonaut and an Italian astronaut.

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Supernova-hunting team finds comet with aid of amateur astronomer - Phys.Org

Ben Birnell

New Utica Comets General Manager Ryan Johnson considers it an exciting time.

Johnson, who added the front-office role to his duties this week, points to the recent flurry of activity in the organization and additions to the Comets coaching staff as reasons they're headed in the right direction.

Johnson, who has served in a player development role for the parent Vancouver Canucks since 2013, believes the slew of changes will also help the Comets be successful.

Its important for us with the environment that we have created and want to continue in Utica. Especially now, when were in a little bit of a you can call it whatever you want a rebuild, Johnson said Thursday from Thunder Bay, Ontario. Weve been stocking our shelves with prospects and trying to create competition in the organization, which weve done.

He will continue to work with Pat Conacher, who has served as the Comets director of hockey operations since 2013. Conachers team knowledge of the Comets as well as his keen eye on the ECHL are important.

It wont change much of the operations that have gone on the last couple of years, said Johnson, whose playing experience includes 710 NHL games, as well, with 181 AHL contests. I have so much respect for Pat and his experience. Its a relationship I really enjoy. Im excited to keep moving forward.

Johnsons focus will continue to be on player development, and much of his day-to-day work wont be that different as he travels to see other prospects. Last season, Johnson said he saw about half of the Comets games in person and watched others online.

I know this team extremely well, he said.

Hes also looking forward to working with the Utica coaching staff, which features new head coach Trent Cull along with also recently named associate coach Gary Agnew and Jason King, who is returning for his second season with Comets. All three are important pieces to the staff, Johnson said.

One thing we really valued with Trent was his experience in the (AHL), Johnson said. His experience was key, but also his attention to details, his organization and his focus on development throughout a season.

Johnson knows the Comets figure to have a different look from the team that finished just outside of the American Hockey Leagues postseason last season.

The organization has a logjam at both forward and defense after recent additions via free agency, trades and draft. Younger players like Jake Virtanen, Nikolay Goldobin and Joseph LaBate, who each played roles for the Comets last season, will likely get some consideration with the NHL club. Johnson is also encouraged by a young defensive group, which includes Jordan Subban and Evan McEneny.

Johnson said veteran forwards Carter Bancks, Wacey Hamilton, Darren Archibald and newly added defenseman Jaime Sifers will be among those leaned on for their experience on and off the ice. Johnson expects the Comets to see an increase in skilled players, which could lead to more production.

Weve got a lot of good young players in the organization. Some are going to compete for spots with Vancouver and some are going to end up in Utica to continue to the process of developing, said Johnson, who said discussions are ongoing about possibly adding more depth, especially at the ECHL level. When you create competition, then everybody gets better. You get better up top and they get better in Utica because there are going to be a lot of guys competing for ice time or looking for an opportunity to get up to Vancouver. We could have veteran guys who get pinched out in training camp.

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Ryan Johnson has eye on development with Utica Comets - Uticaod - Utica Observer Dispatch

By NASA // July 28, 2017

ABOVE VIDEO: A crash course on comments.Comets that take more than 200 years to make one revolution around the Sun are notoriously difficult to study.Because they spend most of their time far from our area of the solar system, many long-period comets will never approach the Sun in a persons lifetime.

(NASA) Comets that take more than 200 years to make one revolution around the Sun are notoriously difficult to study.Because they spend most of their time far from our area of the solar system, many long-period comets will never approach the Sun in a persons lifetime.

In fact, those that travel inward from the Oort Cloud a group of icy bodies beginning roughly 186 billion miles (300 billion kilometers) away from the Sun can have periods of thousands or even millions of years.

NASAs WISE spacecraft, scanning the entire sky at infrared wavelengths, has delivered new insights about these distant wanderers. Scientists found that there are about seven times more long-period comets measuring at least 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) across than had been predicted previously.

They also found that long-period comets are on average up to twice as large as Jupiter family comets, whose orbits are shaped by Jupiters gravity and have periods of less than 20 years.

Researchers also observed that in eight months, three to five times as many long-period comets passed by the Sun than had been predicted. The findings are published in the Astronomical Journal.

Comets travel much faster than asteroids, and some of them are very big.

The number of comets speaks to the amount of material left over from the solar systems formation, said James Bauer, lead author of the study and now a research professor at the University of Maryland, College Park.

We now know that there are more relatively large chunks of ancient material coming from the Oort Cloud than we thought.

The Oort Cloud is too distant to be seen by current telescopes, but is thought to be a spherical distribution of small icy bodies at the outermost edge of the solar system.

The density of comets within it is low, so the odds of comets colliding within it are rare. Long-period comets that WISE observed probably got kicked out of the Oort Cloud millions of years ago.

The observations were carried out during the spacecrafts primary mission before it was renamed NEOWISE and reactivated to target near-Earth objects (NEOs).

Our study is a rare look at objects perturbed out of the Oort Cloud, said Amy Mainzer, study co-author based at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, and principal investigator of the NEOWISE mission.

They are the most pristine examples of what the solar system was like when it formed.

This illustration shows how scientists used data from NASAs WISE spacecraft to determine the nucleus sizes of comets. They subtracted a model of how dust and gas behave in comets in order to obtain the core size.

Astronomers already had broader estimates of how many long-period and Jupiter family comets are in our solar system, but had no good way of measuring the sizes of long-period comets.

That is because a comet has a coma, a cloud of gas and dust that appears hazy in images and obscures the cometary nucleus. But by using the WISE data showing the infrared glow of this coma, scientists were able to subtract the coma from the overall comet and estimate the nucleus sizes of these comets.

The data came from 2010 WISE observations of 95 Jupiter family comets and 56 long-period comets.

The results reinforce the idea that comets that pass by the Sun more often tend to be smaller than those spending much more time away from the Sun.

That is because Jupiter family comets get more heat exposure, which causes volatile substances like water to sublimate and drag away other material from the comets surface as well.

Our results mean theres an evolutionary difference between Jupiter family and long-period comets, Bauer said.

The existence of so many more long-period comets than predicted suggests that more of them have likely impacted planets, delivering icy materials from the outer reaches of the solar system.

Researchers also found clustering in the orbits of the long-period comets they studied, suggesting there could have been larger bodies that broke apart to form these groups.

The results will be important for assessing the likelihood of comets impacting our solar systems planets, including Earth.

Comets travel much faster than asteroids, and some of them are very big, Mainzer said. Studies like this will help us define what kind of hazard long-period comets may pose.

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VIDEO: NASA Says Large, Distant Comets More Common Than ... - SpaceCoastDaily.com

Some old faces are getting some new titles in the Canucks front office.

None are major, but are notable in the career paths of a least a couple. For one, Ryan Johnson is adding Utica Comets general manager to his responsibilities. The former checking centre has worked as director of player development for the Canucks since 2016. He played 210 games for the Canucks as part of a 701 game NHL career.

Johnson said Wednesday on the phone from his moms home in Thunder Bay hes really enjoyed the role hes been handed by the Canucks. He started with the teams development department in 2013; he named the director of player development in 2016.

The job had him in Utica all the time as it is.

Developing guys, that first step into pro is such a vital and tough step, he said. If theres not support its almost alienating for the kids.

To be another voice to take them away from the rink, for life in general, the first time being on your own.

The biggest thing to learn is how to be a professional. And thats not always easy, he noted.

As the player development director, his job has been about teaching players that no longer can they think they will be successful showing up on Friday night, hitting the switch and play three in three nights and then Sunday shutting it off doesnt work.

Its what you do on non-game days, he went on. The AHL schedule is much like junior or college hockey, where teams have long breaks between games.

Thats the risk for a young player, living on his own for the first time, Johnson said. You cant just coast on your skills you need to be making yourself into a better athlete, into a better player.

That means eating right. Hitting the gym. Not spending hours playing video games and eating junk food.

Its a hard lesson, but thats how it is now, with so much money on the line.

(They need to) start to realize that it has to be all encompassing, to understand how to make gains, he said. Just about every player on a professional team, after all, was for much of their hockey life the best player on the team.

The first step is learning a little humility. They think hey Ill be in the American League and Ill score 30 and then Ill be in the NHL. Instead theyve scored twice and its February and theyre thinking hey whats wrong?'

All of a sudden youre the fourth line left winger. Its almost re-learning the game of hockey, he said. The real ones seem to get it by Christmas.

Youd be amazed how many guys dont understand how to forecheck. Its the ones who really want to get there that make it.

One current young Canuck is a great example of such a player, Johnson pointed out: Brendan Gaunce.

The Canucks first rounder from 2012 had a reputation coming out of junior as a solid two-way forward, but even then there was work to do.

He was all in from the time we said go, Johnson said. From skating to working out to learning the game. His commitment to his skating program.

Now hes probably one of our best conditioned guys.

Its all about preparing players for the step up to the NHL, where the margins are even finer, the opportunities even rarer.

Johnson pointed to his own experience: he played parts of three seasons in the AHL, scoring at just under a point-per-game pace.

In the NHL, he had to accept his role would be about stopping the other teams best players.

The formula for me was the professionalism, the kind of teammate I tried to be, he said.

But that also doesnt mean he can just walk into the Comets room and announce that he knows how to get it done.

You immediately lose the player, he said. Youve got a find a different way to relate with them.

One of the things we did at our development camp is we had these guys come in Scott Walker, Sami Salo, Troy Stecher and talk about their path, and the adaptations they had to make.

Now that hes added the title of general manager, his hockey lifes certainly not going to get any simply. But he points to the team hell be working with, from head coach Trent Cull, hired in June, to holdover assistant coach Jason King and new hire Gary Agnew, to Pat Conacher, who was the Cometss GM from the teams first season in 2013. Conacher is remaining in the Comets front office.

Agnew, now Comets associate coach, coached the Syracuse Crunch in the past and as general manager and head coach of the London Knights, he was twice recognized as OHL coach of the year.

Does it change much, not really, the development side of it is very important, certainly not going to let up there, Johnson said of the dual role. Its a continuation of what Ive been doing before.

Ive got a great relationship with Pat, with logistics, how hes able to take care of stuff, the day to day sort of things, with an eye to the East Coast League, hes been big for us.

He called the search for the Comets coach, which landed them Cull, extensive.

As you can imagine, especially with where were at with prospects and building competition and if youre not comfortable with that there, youre in trouble.

It took us aback about how good he was, he added.

In the scouting department, Brett Henning has been promoted to director of pro scouting. Hed been working as a pro scout for the Canucks for the last seven seasons. Joining Henning on the staff are David Volek and Brian Chapman, who both were amateur scouts for the team.

Theres also been a big shakeup in the Canucks amateur scouting ranks, which was expected. Lucien DeBlois, Ken Cook and Mike Addessa have parted ways with the club, the Canucks said in a statement. Additionally, Harold Snepsts, a fan favourite in his playing days, has retired.

Snepsts was an amateur scout for the Canucks for 12 years. He also played for the team for 12 years and was added to the Ring of Honour in March 2011. After retiring as a player, he coached in the IHL for Peoria and San Diego and in the WHL for Portland. He also spent time as an assistant coach with the St. Louis Blues in the early 1990s.

Joining the amateur scouting team are Todd Harvey, Paul Gallagher, Doug Gasper and Vincent Montalbano.

pjohnston@postmedia.com

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Ryan Johnson adds a new Comets title as Canucks shuffle roles ... - The Province

OBSERVER-DISPATCH

Recently named Utica Comets head coach Trent Cull has a new addition to his coaching staff.

The Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday announced personnel moves for their American Hockey League franchise.

Gary Agnew will be Culls associate coach. The 57-year-old Agnew has a coaching career that dates back to the mid-1980s and includes a six-season head coaching stint in the AHL with the Syracuse Crunch. He also has been an associate or assistant with the NHLs Columbus Blue Jackets, St. Louis Blues and most recently with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

He also spent more than a decade working in the Ontario Hockey League, where he was twice named Coach of the Year.

The Canucks also announced that Ryan Johnson will be the Comets general manager. Johnson, who was named the Canucks' player development consultant in 2013, also retains the director of player development role he began in 2016. Johnson will continue to work closely with Vancouver prospects. Johnson, who totaled 122 points in 210 games with the Canucks during a 701-game NHL career, will also continue to work with Comets' Director of Hockey Operations Pat Conacher, who has been with Utica since the 2013-14 season.

Brett Henning was named director of professional scouting. He has spent the last seven seasons on the Canucks scouting staff.

The Comets open the regular season with a franchise-most seven-game road trip that begins Saturday, Oct. 7, at Toronto. Their first home game will be Wednesday, Nov. 1, when they host the Rochester Americans at 7 p.m.

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Utica Comets get GM, associate coach - Utica Observer Dispatch

Published Jul 27, 2017 at 2:00pm

VANCOUVER The Vancouver Canucks made two moves affecting the Utica Comets on Wednesday, naming Ryan Johnson general manager and Gary Agnew associate coach.

In other moves, the Canucks named Brett Henning director of professional scouting, while Brian Chapman and David Volek joined the professional scouts and four amateur scouts were added to the staff.

Johnson joins director of hockey operations Pat Conacher in the Utica front office.

In this expanded role, Johnson will continue to work closely with prospects in the system and lead the day-to-day functions of hockey operations. He joined the Canucks as a player development consultant in 2013 and became director of player development in 2016.

Johnson also played in 210 games in a Canucks sweater over a 701-game NHL career, totaling 122 points.

Agnew joins newly named head coach Trent Cull behind the Comets bench. He most recently worked as an assistant coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2015-16 season. Agnew has also worked with the Syracuse Crunch as a head coach and was the general manager/head coach of the London Knights and was twice recognized as OHL Coach of the Year.

Henning becomes director of professional scouting after spending seven seasons as a member of the Canucks scouting staff. Henning added Volek and Chapman to his staff, both who were amateur scouts for the Canucks.

Four new amateur scouts were added to the Canucks staff. They are Todd Harvy, Paul Gallagher, Doug Gasper and Vincent Montalbano. Leaving the club were Lucien DeBlois, Ken Cook and Mike Addessa.

Longtime Canucks fan favorite Harold Snepsts retires from the scouting ranks after 12 years, but will remain with the club in an ambassador role.

He played 12 seasons with the Canucks and was recently named to the Ring of Honour in 2011. He tallied 233 points and 2,009 penalty minutes for Vancouver, the Minnesota North Stars, Detroit and St. Louis over the course of his NHL career.

The Comets begin their fifth AHL season on Saturday, Oct. 7 with a road game against the Toronto Marlies.

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Canucks name GM and associate coach for Comets - Rome Sentinel

This NASA animation depicts a comet as it enters the inner solar system, with light from the sun warming the comet to create its comet and tail.

There are a lot more big, potentially dangerous comets zooming through deep space than scientists had thought, a new study suggests.

Astronomers have likely underestimated by a factor of seven the number of "long-period" comets those that take at least 200 years to complete one lap around the sun that are at least 0.6 miles (1 kilometer) wide, according to the study.

"Comets travel much faster than asteroids, and some of them are very big," co-author Amy Mainzer, of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in a statement. "Studies like this will help us define what kind of hazard long-period comets may pose." [Best Close Encounters of the Comet Kind]

The study team, led by University of Maryland professor James Bauer, analyzed data gathered by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) spacecraft.

This illustration shows how scientists used data from NASA's WISE spacecraft to determine the nucleus sizes of comets. They subtracted a model of how dust and gas behave in comets in order to obtain the core size.

The data set includes observations of long-period comets and Jupiter-family comets. Long-period comets are thought to arise in the distant Oort Cloud, a spherical shell of icy bodies that begins perhaps 186 billion miles (300 billion km) from the sun, researchers said. The long-period comets that WISE spotted were likely booted inward, toward the sun, by gravitational interactions with other Oort Cloud denizens millions of years ago, the researchers added.

Jupiter-family comets are quite different beasts. They lie relatively close to the sun, completing one lap around the star in less than 20 years. (They are so named because Jupiter's powerful gravity has shaped their orbits.)

The WISE data revealed an unexpected abundance of long-period comets, the researchers said. For example, over an eight-month stretch, three to five times more of these objects zoomed by the sun than scientists had predicted.

"The number of comets speaks to the amount of material left over from the solar system's formation," Bauer said in the same statement. "We now know that there are more relatively large chunks of ancient material coming from the Oort Cloud than we thought."

The study team also determined that long-period comets are up to twice as large, on average, as Jupiter-family comets. The size discrepancy is likely a consequence of the Jupiter-family comets' more frequent trips past the sun, the researchers said: Every time these icy wanderers get close to Earth's star, the sun's intense heat drives off water and other volatile substances, which drag dust with them as they jet into space.

"Our results mean there's an evolutionary difference between Jupiter-family and long-period comets," Bauer said.

The WISE spacecraft launched to Earth orbit in December 2009 and successfully carried out an all-sky survey in infrared light. NASA put WISE into hibernation in February 2011 but reactivated the spacecraft two years later to search for asteroids and other near-Earth objects. (Mainzer is the principal investigator for this new mission, which is called NEOWISE.)

The new study, which was published earlier this month in The Astronomical Journal, looked at data the spacecraft gathered during its prime mission, in 2010.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter@michaeldwallandGoogle+.Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebookor Google+. Originally published onSpace.com.

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Big, Dangerous Comets Are More Common Than Scientists Thought - Space.com

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Hrefna Bjrg Gylfadttir

Published July 26, 2017

Moses Hightower might be one of the busiest bands in Reykjavk. As we sit down to talk, lead singer and keyboardist Steingrmur Steini Karl Teague is about to embark on a monthlong tour; drummer Magns Maggi Trygvason Eliassen is in more bands than theres space to list here.

Both are full-time working musicians, plying their trade as session artists and score composers between albums while also contributing to other bands. Their bandmateslead singer and bassist Andri lafsson, and guitarist and singer Danel Fririk Bvarssonare similarly busy, and unavailable for the interview due to prior engagements.

Pop music can sometimes be predictable its fun to make something that breaks the rules.

Somehow, though, they found time to release a record this year. The third Moses Hightower album, Fjallaloft (Mountain Air) is an eclectic collection that has proven a local hit. But finding the time to record and practice can be challenging. Its even more difficult now than it used to be, says Maggi. Steini concurs: I think we work faster now when we actually find the time, but keeping things going and not losing the thread can be a struggle.

A slow process

Its partly their busy work schedules that led to Fjallaloft being so long in the making. The temperature of the world probably went up by like 0.3 degrees in the time it took us to finish it, jokes Maggi.

Reflecting back on such a drawn-out creative process can be difficultbut slow work also has its benefits. Its like growing a beard, says Steini. You see no difference from one day to another, and then all of a sudden its there. You dont feel used up when you finally find the time to recordtheres a lot of time to gather things that you want to try. When the four of us get together, were all ready with something to contribute.

The big picture

One distinctive element of their music that might go over the heads of non-Icelandic speakers is their eccentric and yet tender lyrics, on subjects like the rituals of drunken heart-to-heart conversations (on Trn) to the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 crashing into Jupiter in 1992 (on Geim).

Some bands like to have their lyrics really open, so its easy to relate to them and apply them to your own life, says Steini. We tend to go the other way, narrowing things down and zooming ingetting so close that you cant see the big picture any more, and have to fill in the blanks. Adds Maggi: The lyrics are usually the last thing we add.

Anything goes

The soundscape behind the music is complex, with miniscule details working together to provide the ambience in amongst the instruments. Theres no right or wrong, says Maggi. Well try anything. In one song, I used lighters to get the right sound and played them until I bled. Well try out different things, different sounds and different moods. For us, its important to have fun.

This playfulness is evident on the album, whichdespite its softness and the lazy drawl of its drumshas a tendency to shake things up, catching the listener off-guard and grabbing their attention with sudden transitions. The band refer to their sound simply as pop, citing inspirations from across the genres, but they dont want to be too easily defined.

Pop music can sometimes be a bit predictable, says Steini, so its fun to make something that manages to break the rules without transitioning into other genresjust too see if its possible.

Fjallaloft is out now. A release party takes place Sept. 22 at Hsklab; tickets are on sale at tix.is.

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Comets And Trn: Moses Hightower On Knowing How To Break The Rules - Reykjavk Grapevine

Between the discovery of Comet ASASSN1 and two stellar explosions, there's a lot happeningin the sky this week. Take your telescope out and see what all the excitement's about.

New Comet ASASSN1 (C/2017 O1) already glows aqua from carbon-laced gases. The comet is currently visible in the pre-dawn sky through modest-sized telescopes. Rolando Ligustri

It feels like the FedEx guy just pulled up and dropped off atruckload of astronomical goodies. News arrived in my e-mail Monday about a new comet discovered by the All-Sky Automated Survey for Supernovae(ASAS-SN).Founding member Benjamin Shappee and team have 498 bright supernovae and numerous other transient sources to their credit, but this is the group'sfirst comet discovery, ASASSN1 (C/2017 O1).

The 15th-magnitude object was caught before dawn on July 19th in the constellation Cetus using data from the quadruple 14-cm "Cassius" telescope on Cerro Tololo, Chile. Don't be put off by that magnitude. The comethas brightened quickly in the past few days; visual observers are now reporting it at around magnitude +10 with a large (7), weakly condensed coma. Chris Wyatt of Australia relates that a Swan band filter does a great job enhancing the apparent brightness and contrast of the coma, a sign this is a "gassy" comet.

This wide-view map shows Comet ASASSN1's location at the CetusEridanus border south of Alpha () Ceti (Menkar) on July 26th. Stellarium

Assuming the orbit remains close to the current calculation, Comet ASASSN1 will move northeast across Cetus and Taurus this summer and fall,slowly brightening as it approaches perihelion on October 14th in Perseus. It comes closest to the Earth four nights later, missing the planet by a cool 67 million miles. In a fun twist, ASASSN1 will slow down and spend the entire month of December and much of January within a few degrees of the North Star!

Comet ASSASN1 (C/2017 O1) moves steadily to the northeast in the coming month, becoming higher and easier to see before dawn. Stars are shown to magnitude +9 and comet positions are marked every 3 days at ~4 a.m. CDT. North is up. Chris Marriott's SkyMap

Still, don't count your comets before they hatch. Or even after. Hairy stars can be fickle. There's a fair chance we're only seeing a temporary bright outburst of an intrinsically faint comet.But who knows? You and I will have to keep track of it to find out. Right now, ASASSN1 stands about 20 high in the southeastern sky as it crosses from Cetus into Eridanus. An 8-inch telescope should have no problem bringing it to life, especially now that the Moon's out of view and won't return to the morning sky until August 6th. You can stay in touch with the latest developments on Shappee's Twitter page.

In this photo from July 22nd, the new supernova SN 2017fgc shines at magnitude +13.7, far from the core of the elliptical galaxy NGC 474 in Pisces. You can use the comparison star magnitudes to estimate the supernova's brightness. North is up. Stan Howerton

While you're out waiting for the comet to climb out of the haze, why not check out the new supernova, SN 2017fgc, which recently exploded into view in the 11th-magnitude galaxy NGC 474 in Pisces. At magnitude +13.7, you wouldn't call it "bright," but it's been rising since the DLT40 Surveydiscovered it on July 11th. Based on spectra taken of the object, it was still a couple weeks before maximum in mid-July,so I wouldn't be surprised if it continues to brighten.

This wide-field chart will help get you to NGC 474. It shows stars to magnitude +8. Use the photo above to navigate to the supernova. North is up. Stellarium

Lots of supernovae appear close to the nuclei of their host galaxies and are notoriously difficult to discern in the dense fuzz of unresolved starlight. Not this one.It's "in the clear" 116 east and 45 north of the galaxy's center, so you won't break an eyeball trying to see it. An 8-inch scope magnifying around 150-200 should coax it into view on a dark, moonless morning.

Use this chart to find the nova, ASASSN17-hx. Then click here and here for more detailed AAVSO charts you can use to pinpoint its position and estimate its brightness. Stellarium

When you bring this catastrophic pinpoint into focus, you'll be looking at what happens whena white dwarf star gains too much weight. After siphoning material from a close companion star for millennia, the dwarf exceeded its maximum weight of 1.4 solar masses and underwent a catastrophic gravitational collapse. The runaway fusion reaction that followed raced through the star, destroying it in one titanic blast. Overnight, a lowly white dwarf became aType Ia supernova, bright enough to see from 96 million light years, the distance to the host galaxy.

The nova ASASSN-17hx jumps in brightness between June 23 and July 13 in this then-and-now animation. Gianluca Masi / Virtual Telescope Project

Finally, a nova that's been dozing away at 12th-magnitude has started kicking out the jams!Since it's discovery on June 23rd, ASASSN-17hx has brightened nearly two full magnitudes, putting it within range of large binoculars and small telescopes.

As you can tell from the object's name, the ASAS-SN crew has been busy! Currently at about magnitude +9.5 (and still rising) inthe Scutum Milky Way, it's well-placed for viewing at nightfall a few degrees below the tail of Aquila, the Eagle.

Like a Type Ia supernova, a nova occurs in a close binary star system where a normal star like our Sun is paired up with a white dwarf. Material pulled from the companion finds its way by way of accretion disk to the surface of the dwarf, where it accumulates, heats up, and ignites in a thermonuclear explosion. Asudden increase in brightness follows on the heels of the blast that raises the star from obscurity to binocular or even naked-eye visibility.

Novae occur in close binary systems where one star is a tiny but extremely compact white dwarf star. The dwarf pulls material from its companion into a disk around itself; some of the adopted material funnels to the surface and ignites in a nova explosion. NASA

Unlike a supernova, the dwarf in this system remains intact and theprocess begins anew. It's estimated that small white dwarfs have repeat nova outbursts about once every 5 million years; for larger dwarfs, it's about every 30,000 years. The most massive musttake care as they teeter close to the 1.4-solar mass limit. If a dwarf doesn't burn and destroy the accumulated fuel in time, the extra mass can push itpast the limitto supernova-dom.

Guess it's time to open up those packages. Clear skies!

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Sky Surprises: New Comet ASASSN1, Nova in Scutum, and Supernova in Pisces! - SkyandTelescope.com

DICKSON Just a few months ago, Darrell Mays helped the Dickson High School baseball program make history as the first district title in 13 years was achieved.

DICKSON Just a few months ago, Darrell Mays helped the Dickson High School baseball program make history as the first district title in 13 years was achieved.

Fast forward to the present, and the DHS baseball skipper is hoping to have some magic rub off on a different group of Dickson athletes, the Lady Comets softball team.

This season, Mays will be at the helm of the fall program, as he tries to instill a new mindset and atmosphere to another, group of talented athletes.

We have an expectation of if we create a positive culture, then everything will take care of itself, Mays said. That starts with practice and doing things right the first time. We want these girls to buy into the process and have fun out here.

Mays admitted the success from the baseball team this past spring has had a ripple effect on the culture of Dickson athletics, as it has motivated others to achieve the same level.

Whenever anyone sees success happening in a school system, it creates a synergy amongst everyone, he said. Hopefully its going to get the kids excited and let them know they dont have to settle for being second best and that they have potential. We want these girls to keep pushing forward and to just be their best.

Among the players expected to help lead the charge this season for the Lady Comets will be seniors Kelsie Allen, Lauren Bess, Staley Ned, and Ashley Eades.

Other upperclassmen will include juniors Jadyn McKenzie, Shanna McKown, Keely King and Kylea Farmer.

Dickson will also be bringing a combined total of 10 freshmen and sophomore players to the diamond this season.

I really believe some of these younger girls are going to step up for us this season, Mays said. Theyve had success in the junior high ranks and Im going to be looking to them to help build a positive foundation for us. These freshman and sophomores are going to grow each week and its something Im looking forward to seeing weekly. Our upperclassmen are going to be some good leaders as well.

I believe one of our biggest strengths is going to be overall team defense, Mays added. When you have a strong team defense then it helps your pitching out and it leads to more productivity at the plate for the rest of our girls.

Dickson will open the season with a four game homestead beginning August 7 against Kingston, before facing off with Ringling the next day.

August 10 will bring a triangular contest against Marietta and Comanche. August 14 will bring with it the first road game of the season for Dickson as the Lady Comets will travel to Lindsay.

Following another road game against the Sulphur Lady Bulldogs the next day, Dickson will take part in the Tishomingo Tournament which will take place Aug. 17-19.

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Lady Comets aiming for own piece of history at DHS - Daily Ardmoreite

DICKSON Anytime there is a coaching change, leaders are looked at to step up.

DICKSON Anytime there is a coaching change, leaders are looked at to step up.

For Dickson Lady Comets players Jadyn McKenzie, Shanna McKown, and Kelsie Allen, their numbers have been called in preparation for this season.

Everyone is giving their all when they hit the field right now, Allen said. Weve been nothing but excited since Coach (Darrell) Mays has come in. He knows what hes talking about, and obviously with the baseball boys we know what he expects from us and we need to step up.

Theres so many young girls on this squad this season, Allen added. But everyone is learning quick so well get better.

For the junior center fielder, McKenzie said she expects the young girls to follow in the example the upperclassmen have set in the preseason.

I believe that were starting to believe in one another, she said. I very much believe that having this much youth on our squad makes us a dangerous team. We feel like we can achieve success and be pretty good because of the younger girls we have. They give their all at practice and thats all we can ask of them.

Having a new coach has changed a lot of things for us, McKenzie said. Its got us believing that we can do some big things this season.

Leading the charge on the mound this season will be McKown, as the junior seeks to shut down opponents and provide a spark for the new look Lady Comets.

The change in having a new coach has been extremely positive for us, McKown said. Weve been realizing that a single outcome isnt as big as the overall process it takes to be a great team. Seeing what the baseball team did in the spring showed everyone that we can achieve wins on the big stage. Its all about believing we can and focusing on the little things this season.

I started pitching when I was a freshman and I was terrified, McKown added. When things arent going well, then you have to stay positive out there. People look to the pitcher and catcher for leadership in tough times. We just cant break down out there, we have to always stay positive and motivated.

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Upperclassmen setting the tone for Lady Comets program in '17 - Daily Ardmoreite

Cumbrian-racer Craig Cook took on the world's best for the fourth time in his career at Cardiffs Principality Stadium when the rode as the wild card in this year's British Speedway Grand Prix.

However, despite battling performances from the Workington Comets skipper in every outing, his final tally of two points did not reflect the effort that he put in both on and off track, and left him disappointed with his nights work in what was a keenly-contested meeting that was eventually won by Polands Maciej Janowski.

Things got off to the worst possible start for Cook when, in his opening ride (heat 3), he charged through the tapes from the inside starting position on an evening where several riders either broke the starting tapes or were officially warned for starting infringements.

His second outing, in heat 6, saw him pick up his first point of the evening when, having been locked in a battle with Polands Piotr Pawlicki for third place, the Pole hit a rut on the fourth bend of the third lap, throwing him off-line and allowing Cook through to secure the third place point.

When Cook next took to the track in heat 12 he faced two riders that would ultimately reach the Grand Final: Polands Bartosz Zmarzlik and Slovenias Matej Zagar.

Cook led out of the second turn before Zmarzlik rounded him as they entered turn three. Then, at the end of lap two, Zagar forced his way under Cook to relegate him to third place as he picked up his second point.

It was heat 15 when Cook next took to the track and he played a major part in one of the best races of the night as he mixed it with Russian star Emil Sayfutdinov and his former Comets team-mate Peter Kildemand for the first three laps. However, on turn two of the final lap, Kildemand cut across Cook, who had to take evasive action, meaning he lost his momentum.

With all chance of qualification for the semi-final stage now gone, Cook lined up for his final ride against Britains two-time world champion Tai Woffinden and joint world championship leaders Jason Doyle and Patryk Dudek.

Doyle won the race from Dudek, with Woffinden third and Cook last.

With no home riders making the semi-finals, Zmarzlik and Doyle qualified for the Grand Final along with Janowski and Zagar.

In the final it was Janowski that led throughout with Doyle pressing him for all four laps, while behind them Zmarzlik looked set for third place before a final lap engine failure handed Zagar the last step on the podium.

With riders taking points from each other all night that second place finish was enough to push Doyle three points clear at the top of the overall championship standings, although with the Cardiff GP only being the half-way point in the 12-round series that slender lead is of no real consequence at this stage.

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Plenty of effort from Workington Comets ace at British Speedway ... - News & Star

Cumbrian-racer Craig Cook took on the world's best for the fourth time in his career at Cardiffs Principality Stadium when the rode as the wild card in this year's British Speedway Grand Prix.

However, despite battling performances from the Workington Comets skipper in every outing, his final tally of two points did not reflect the effort that he put in both on and off track, and left him disappointed with his nights work in what was a keenly-contested meeting that was eventually won by Polands Maciej Janowski.

Things got off to the worst possible start for Cook when, in his opening ride (heat 3), he charged through the tapes from the inside starting position on an evening where several riders either broke the starting tapes or were officially warned for starting infringements.

His second outing, in heat 6, saw him pick up his first point of the evening when, having been locked in a battle with Polands Piotr Pawlicki for third place, the Pole hit a rut on the fourth bend of the third lap, throwing him off-line and allowing Cook through to secure the third place point.

When Cook next took to the track in heat 12 he faced two riders that would ultimately reach the Grand Final: Polands Bartosz Zmarzlik and Slovenias Matej Zagar.

Cook led out of the second turn before Zmarzlik rounded him as they entered turn three. Then, at the end of lap two, Zagar forced his way under Cook to relegate him to third place as he picked up his second point.

It was heat 15 when Cook next took to the track and he played a major part in one of the best races of the night as he mixed it with Russian star Emil Sayfutdinov and his former Comets team-mate Peter Kildemand for the first three laps. However, on turn two of the final lap, Kildemand cut across Cook, who had to take evasive action, meaning he lost his momentum.

With all chance of qualification for the semi-final stage now gone, Cook lined up for his final ride against Britains two-time world champion Tai Woffinden and joint world championship leaders Jason Doyle and Patryk Dudek.

Doyle won the race from Dudek, with Woffinden third and Cook last.

With no home riders making the semi-finals, Zmarzlik and Doyle qualified for the Grand Final along with Janowski and Zagar.

In the final it was Janowski that led throughout with Doyle pressing him for all four laps, while behind them Zmarzlik looked set for third place before a final lap engine failure handed Zagar the last step on the podium.

With riders taking points from each other all night that second place finish was enough to push Doyle three points clear at the top of the overall championship standings, although with the Cardiff GP only being the half-way point in the 12-round series that slender lead is of no real consequence at this stage.

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Plenty of effort from Workington Comets ace at British Speedway Grand Prix - News & Star

Sheffield Tigers 51 Workington Comets 39

Workington Comets failed to tame the Tigers as they went down 51-39 at Owlerton to leave Sheffield empty-handed.

Comets almost got off to a dream start as Craig Cook and Mason Campton gated on a 5-1, only for Josh Grajczonek and Todd Kurtz to drive up the inside of the captain to share the points.

Tigers debutant Jan Graversen won heat two with ease ahead of the visitors guest Tom Perry, while Rob Shuttleworth was last behind Georgie Wood, another making his first appearance for the hosts.

It was the home side who gated on a 5-1 in heat three and Ty Proctor seemed too eager to impress on his old track, wiping out Ryan Douglas and being excluded as the race was awarded to put Sheffield six points up.

Heat four had to be rerun after Thomas Jorgensen and Lasse Bjerre made a mess of the tapes before the Tigers made it 16-8 with a 4-2 thanks to Bjerre and Wood as Jorgensen let the lead slip.

Comets seemed to wake up in heat five as Cook and Campton combined for a 5-1 to halve the deficit, only for Grajczonek to rocket round in front of Jorgensen and Kurtz to stretch it back to six points.

Proctor had no problems impressing in heat six as he led from gate to flag, but Bjerre and Graversen chased for a draw, then Campton continued his fine form with a superb win in heat seven, closely followed by Perry for yet another away 5-1.

Jorgensen got in on the act by beating former Workington No.1 Grajczonek in heat eight, but Shuttleworth was last so the Tigers held on.

A 5-1 for the home side threatened to drain Comets momentum in heat nine, Grajczonek and Kurtz making light work of Matt Williamson and Proctor.

Bjerre got the better of Cook and Campton to make it 36-30 after 11 heats, before Douglas gave Comets an opening as he crashed out and was excluded in heat 12.

Proctor capitalised the win but Graversen got his nose ahead of Perry for a Comets 4-2 to make things interesting with three heats left.

The usually dependable Cook continued to have something of an off night by his own high standards, trailing Grajczonek while Bjerre beat Jorgensen to put the home side six points up with two heats to go and leave Comets hopes of a point in trouble.

Those chances looked very slim after the Tigers secured a 4-2 in heat 14, with Williamson splitting Douglas and Graversen, and the hosts condemned Comets to a long journey home disappointed with a 5-1 in the final heat.

Comets co-promoter Steve Whitehead, who was team manager for the night, said he was disappointed with the result but not the performance.

He said: "Sheffield Tigers were relieved.

"I'm not taking anything away from them, they're a good side.

"Craig Cook was pretty poorly so that didn't help us and to even score seven points was good.

"He'd probably have scored 13 fully fit and that would have made it something like 46-44.

"Mason Campton was the star and a few people might wonder why I didn't put him in heat 15 but when we got the three lads together Ty and Thomas were keen and Mason thought maybe it was best to go with the heat-leaders."

Sheffield Tigers 51

1. Josh Grajczonek 2, 3, 2, 3, 3, 2* = 15+1

2. Todd Kurtz 1*, 3, 1, 1, 2* = 8+2

3. Ryan Douglas 2*, 0, 1*, Fx, 3 = 6+2

4. Kyle Howarth R/R

5. Lasse Bjerre 3, 1, 2, 3, 1, 3 = 13

6. Jan Graversen 3, 1, 0, 2, 1 = 7

7. Georgie Wood 1, 1, 0 = 2

Workington Comets 39

1. Craig Cook 0, 3, 2, 2 = 7

2. Mason Campton 3, 2*, 3, 1* = 9+2

3. Ty Proctor X, 3, 0, 3, 1 = 7

4. Matt Williamson 1, 0, 1, 2 = 4

5. Thomas Jorgensen 2, 2, 3, 0, 0 = 7

6. Tom Perry 2, 0, 2*, 1, 0 = 5+1

7. Rob Shuttleworth 0, 0, 0 = 0

HEAT BY HEAT

HEAT 1 Campton, Grajczonek, Kurtz, Cook 62.2, 3-3

HEAT 2 Graversen, Perry, Wood, Shuttleworth 62.6, 4-2, 7-5

HEAT 3 Kurtz, Douglas, Williamson, Proctor (Excluded) Nt, 5-1, 12-6

HEAT 4 Bjerre, Jorgensen, Wood, Shuttleworth 62, 4-2, 16-8

HEAT 5 Cook, Campton, Bjerre, Douglas 61.3, 1-5, 17-13

HEAT 6 Grajczonek, Jorgensen, Kurtz, Perry 61.9, 4-2, 21-15

HEAT 7 Proctor, Bjerre, Graversen, Williamson 62.4, 3-3, 24-18

HEAT 8 Campton, Perry, Kurtz, Graversen 63.7, 1-5, 25-23

HEAT 9 Jorgensen, Grajczonek, Douglas, Shuttleworth 63, 3-3, 28-26

HEAT 10 Grajczonek, Kurtz, Williamson, Proctor 62.2, 5-1, 33-27

HEAT 11 Bjerre, Cook, Campton, Wood 62.6, 3-3, 36-30

HEAT 12 Proctor, Graversen, Perry, Douglas (fell excluded) 63.6, 2-4, 38-34

HEAT 13 Grajczonek, Cook, Bjerre, Jorgensen 62.4, 4-2, 42-36

HEAT 14 Douglas, Williamson, Graversen, Perry 63.4, 4-2, 46-38

HEAT 15 Bjerre, Grajczonek, Proctor, Jorgensen 63.4, 5-1, 51-39

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Workington Comets slip to 51-39 loss at in-form Sheffield - News & Star