Comet 17P/Holmes EXPOLDES!
I received an email from a friend with the following comments:
Don't want you to miss this one. Look to the northeast before the moon arises tonight (providing it doesn't get cloudy.
Space Weather News for Oct. 29, 2007
http://spaceweather.com
Last week, Comet 17P/Holmes shocked sky watchers around the world with a sudden million-fold increase in brightness. It literally exploded into view, rapidly becoming a naked eye "star" in the constellation Perseus. Since then the comet has expanded dramatically. It is now physically larger than the planet Jupiter and subtends an angle in the night sky similar to the Moon's Sea of Tranquility, the right eye of the "Man in the Moon." Photographers, this amazing comet is an excellent target for off-the-shelf digital cameras and backyard telescopes. It grows visibly from night to night and no one knows how large it will become. Stay tuned to http://spaceweather.com for sky maps and the latest images.
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Re: Comet 17P/Holmes EXPOLDES!
http://spaceweather.com/comets/holme...-friedman1.jpg
Holy COW!!!!!!!!!!!! Apparently this is someone's wish for a Happy Halloween for us Earthlings... wow is all I can say. Wow.
Re: Comet 17P/Holmes EXPOLDES!
| What's up in Space | October 31, 2007 | http://spaceweather.com/images/new_s...trtb_r1_c5.jpg | http://spaceweather.com/images/spacer.gif |
http://spaceweather.com/banners/minibanner_mysky.gif Where's Saturn? Is that a UFO--or the ISS? What's the name of that star? Get the answers from mySKY--a fun new astronomy helper from Meade.
HIGH ATMOSPHERE: Space weather enthusiasts will enjoy a new web site composed by atmospheric optics expert Les Cowley: "High Atmosphere" explains the physics and fascination of airglow, rocket trails, gravity waves and much more. Enjoy!
TRICK OR TREAT: Astronomers around the world agree. Exploding Comet 17P/Holmes is one of the strangest things they've ever seen. Little did they know...
Last night, astrophotographer Alan Friedman of Buffalo, NY, took a close-up picture of the comet's core. "A strong deconvolution filter followed by multiple passes of unsharp mask and gaussian blur reveals startling new structure in comet 17P/Holmes." Here it is:
Trick or treat!
Would you like to see the comet behind the mask? Look north after sunset for an expanding fuzzball in the constellation Perseus: sky map. Comet Holmes is about as bright as the stars of the Big Dipper, easy to see with the unaided eye and a spellbinding target for backyard telescopes.
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Re: Comet 17P/Holmes EXPOLDES!
Re: Comet 17P/Holmes EXPOLDES!
(I think that was a trick too, bu the way! haha)
Anyway other pictures there show it as a giant fuzz-ball, about 1/10th the size of the moon.
Re: Comet 17P/Holmes EXPOLDES!
http://spaceweather.com/images2007/2...rth_holmes.gif
Go there for a star chart, and check it out for location.
