Comet Spit (Multi Cache) - ASSA

Comet Spit (Multi Cache)

This is a 2 stage multi.

It is often said that there are more grains of sand on all the beaches of the world than
there are stars in the sky. A quick search on the internet provides many academic
calculations on this statement and most conclude that they are impressed to find that
the statement is true.

Looking at the grains of sand on the Spit, and the shape and length of the Spit, makes
one wonder at the size of space. It is much easier to picture our Solar System, but
most people have no concept of the scale of our system. Hopefully, TeamAstro’s
caches can help us picture that our Solar System is mostly space, with a few little
“caches” scattered through it.

Comet Spit is 1603km from TeamAstro’s Sun, located in the heart
of Adelaide. Pluto is 1000km from the Sun on this scale. This
puts Comet Spit outside Pluto’s orbit, deep in the outer part of the
Solar System. The distance from the Earth to the Sun is called
1 Astronomical Unit (AU). Pluto is 39AU’s from Earth, Comet
Spit is 61AU’s distant. It is too far away from the Earth, and too
dimly illuminated by the Sun, to get a good picture.

If Comet Spit ventured into the Sun, it would probably develop a tail like the one
pictured above (top right), which is similar in shape and scale to the Spit. That is, the
tiny cache would have a proportionate tail about as long as the Spit.

Comet Spit lies in the realm of what is known as the Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is
a disk-shaped region past the orbit of Neptune roughly 30 to 100AU from the Sun
containing many small icy bodies. It is now considered to be the source of the short-
period comets.

Occasionally the orbit of a Kuiper Belt object will be disturbed by the interactions of
the giant planets in such a way that the object is caused to cross the orbit
of Neptune. It is then likely to have a close encounter with Neptune
sending it out of the solar system or into an orbit crossing the paths of
the other giant planets or even into the inner solar system.

It is estimated that there are at least 35,000 Kuiper Belt objects greater
than 100 km in diameter, which is several hundred times the number
(and mass) of similar sized objects in the main asteroid belt.

To read more about Comets and the other Solar System caches, see TeamAstro’s
series of caches!

TeamAstro Comet Spit

Original Cache Contents
Note Book and Pencil (please do not take)
Geocache.com notice
NASA Comet Lithograph (please read but leave in the cache)

GeoCoin (see www.geocoins.com), Poopin Pig TB, Aussie flags, hole punch, stapler,
staples x2, flashing star pendant, hose nozzle, hose connectors x2, toy bears, glowing
space objects, star dust test tube, glowing star, alien figure, metal military figure,
Jupiter ball.

Locating Comet Spit

Stage 1:

You have 2 choices: Use the clues at the geocaching.com (published coords) to
calculate the actual cache position (method A), or, find a small cache with coordinates
for Comet Spit (method B).

Method A

Stand at 28° 01.998s, 153°25.839e. From here you can see “Jupiter”, “Neptune”.
“Mercury” and “Gemini”. Can you see them? Note Gemini’s 4 digit number.

Also note the road sign that has directions to Surfers Paradise, Southport and
Brisbane.

Latitude

Lat degrees = (Southport distance + 1) x 3

Lat mins = Brisbane distance – Gemini’s first 2 digits (the 1000’s and 100’s)

Lat thousandths = First and last digits of Gemini (left to right) and Surfer’s distance as
the unit

Longitude

Long degrees = same as original longitude degrees

Long minutes = same as original longitude minutes

Long thousandths = Gemini’s middle 2 digits (left to right) and the unit digit equals
one tenth of the sum of Brisbane’s two numbers

TeamAstro Comet Spit

Method B

Go to 28° 02.010s, 153°25.837e and find Comet Spit’s cache coordinates in a Cape
Byron film canister. The canister is in a 3-stemmed (trunked) Casuarina tree adjacent
a native hibiscus tree with yellow flowers (in season). A rock has been placed on top
of the container. Comet Spit is about 10.7km from here. Replace exactly as found!

Stage 2

Away you go!

Hint

In a distinctive clump of trees with heart shaped leaves (not the casuarinas). 25m NW
from a Y junction in the creek. GPS could be a bit flaky.

This jn can be found by walking up the creek from the Federation Walk (in the coastal
reserve). This is the path that leads northward from the Kiosk. This is the best route
to avoid the Orb Spiders!!

TeamAstro Comet Spit