Comet 17P Holmes

[Tomeck]

A nearly unprecedented outburst has raised Comet 17P/Holmes from a 17th-magnitude object visible only through large telescopes into plain view without optical aid. The comet lies in Perseus the Hero and will remain visible all night from most of the Northern Hemisphere.

Astronomy - Naked-eye comet bursts into view - Richard Talcott

My photo with Canon 400D 200 mm on 5th November.

 

[do it easy]

Nice pict! I saw this from my suburban driveway in the early morning. The fuzziness is quite distinctive- it's not the brightest object, but it is certainly the fuzziest!

I used the two stars in Cassiopeia to find the star- gamma and delta or, the second and third stars in from the more open end. These point towards Holmes, which will be about 5 times the distance between gamma and delta.

 

[Tomeck]

I used the two stars in Cassiopeia to find the star- gamma and delta or, the second and third stars in from the more open end. These point towards Holmes, which will be about 5 times the distance between gamma and delta.

That's right!

One day afterwards (6th November), I again photographed the comet 17P Holmes, I see that it is dilating. It had never been seen historically that the comet of short period (6,9 years) is normally visible only with large telescopes and became visible easily with the naked eye. It is larger than the largest planet of the solar system (Jupiter).

 

[Tomeck]

I waited until the sky is uncloudy to photograph again. According to my photographs with an objective of 200 mm and a telescope 200 mm of diameter, the comet 17P Holmes became larger than the Sun, it continues to dilate. I do not know when it will stop.

 

[Charlie99]

I've been watching it over the last several nights and mornings, noting the slow drift more or less towards the north pole. It seems to be losing brightness and probably won't be easily visible with the naked eye for many more nights.

I find the easiest way is to follow the curved path of stars that goes from Cassiopia over to Pleides --- it's near two bright stars in Perseus, about halfway between Cassiopia and the Pleides. It's also conveniently located near Algol if you want to check out its occultation cycle.

 

[Tomeck]

I've been watching it over the last several nights and mornings, noting the slow drift more or less towards the north pole. It seems to be losing brightness and probably won't be easily visible with the naked eye for many more nights.

I find the easiest way is to follow the curved path of stars that goes from Cassiopia over to Pleides --- it's near two bright stars in Perseus, about halfway between Cassiopia and the Pleides. It's also conveniently located near Algol if you want to check out its occultation cycle.

With binoculars, you can find very easily in the form of luminous spot.

 

[drbill]

Very cool. I remember Halley's last appearance. An elderly friend asked me to call her any time of night when I first located it because she had seen it as a young child and wanted to see it a second time. I was up on my deck and found it at 2:00 AM, called her, and she was dressed and at the telescope before I even got out of my house.

Will definitely pull out my telescopes for this one although from here it wil be partially obscured by the lights of LA LA Land.

 

[Tomeck]

The comet (12th November) continues to grow, it became easier to find by the larger size.

First photo : Canon 400D, 200 mm of objectif
Second photo : Celestron C8 with reducer of F/D to 6.3

 

[Tomeck]

By comparing between November 12 and November 26, 2007, the comet 17P Holmes continues to grow bigger, but the luminosity decreases and it became in extreme cases of the visisibity to the naked eye.

Photograph of left: 12th November 2007
Photograph of right: 26th November 2007

 

[Charlie99]

For those of us in less than ideal viewing locations (overlooking the lights of a couple million people in Silicon Valley) the comet is disappeared a few nights ago.

Between the lights, thin clouds, and the bright moon, the last time I could see the comet was about 5 days ago, when it was very close to Mirfak. Even then, you had to know where to look to see it with naked eye. It was still pretty easy to see in a 7x50 binocular.