bandit1200
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Just wondered if anyone else has been interested in the above ('scuse the pun) comet. I've been watching it since it suddenly brightened a millionfold during October. It can easily be seen by eye in Perseus if the sky around you is dark enough, and is amazing through a decent pair of binoculars. I have both 10x50 and 15x70 and it looks spectacular even through the small ones. In this case it's spectacular as it is round, rather than with a tail as is more usual. Anyone else had an interest in it?

Znirk
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bandit1200 wrote:
Just wondered if anyone else has been interested in the above ('scuse the pun) comet. I've been watching it since it suddenly brightened a millionfold during October. It can easily be seen by eye in Perseus if the sky around you is dark enough, and is amazing through a decent pair of binoculars. I have both 10x50 and 15x70 and it looks spectacular even through the small ones. In this case it's spectacular as it is round, rather than with a tail as is more usual. Anyone else had an interest in it?

This is the first I've heard about it. But then I have no idea where to look for Perseus either, so maybe my ignorance isn't so surprising...

bandit1200
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If anyone is interested, there's any number of astronomy websites out there that have info on the comet and how to find it. I didn't know where Perseus was until about 3 weeks ago, but looking online and finding the comet by eye took me about 5 minutes. Actually, looking for Cassiopeia - 5 stars in the shape of a "W" - is probably the best place to start as it's more obvious to anyone not familiar with the night sky. A line through two of the stars in Cassiopeia point to the comet at the moment. Cassiopeia is directly overhead at 9pm in the UK at the moment. As far south as Dallas, it is at 60 degrees altitude at 9pm.

Heh, I just noticed that the comet looks very like the light at the cursor when you start TCB.

Elfstone
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Thanks for the info bandit. There are no street lights where I live, so seing things like this is easy - if there are no clouds!! I had a stunning view of the Hal-Bopp (?) comet a few years back. I'll look out for this one whenever we have a clear night. Do you know how long it is to be around for?

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bandit1200
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File: holmes.jpg (17.5 KB)
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Elfstone wroteo you know how long it is to be around for?

I think that is a bit of an unknown. It comes around every 7 years(ish) but is usually too faint to be seen through smaller amateur telescopes. No one knows why it suddenly brightened so much, but the reason it was discovered 100 years ago is because it did exactly the same thing. It eventually disappeared from view only to reappear again a couple of months later, though fainter.

It is moving away from us so it will obviously be getting fainter now, but is still very visible through binoculars. Certainly from your neck of the woods. I wish I could get away from the lights here to get a better view.

I've attached a small photo, (18k), taken with a 3mp handheld camera, to show what it looked like by eye on the 27th of October. The comet is the left hand "star" of the triangle of brightest stars just below the telephone line.

bandit1200
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File: holmes31102007.jpg (17 KB)
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Another photo taken by my eldest sister - part time astronomer and full time great grandmother, or is that the other way round? - with a Canon 300D on the 3rd of this month. Nine exposures (I think)stacked together.

bandit1200
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An update to my own little thread.

The comet is now the largest object in the solar system, even bigger than the sun.

http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu:80/faculty/jewitt/holmes.html

golfrman
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what the!? bigger than the sun? Bigger than the Friggin son!? geez.

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