[Post partially reconstructed after 25.10.07 hack]:
As a headline, it’s a cheap link, I know, but it was irresistible. The point is that the comet Holmes suddenly got much brighter and is now beginning to do a naked eye display. How much brighter? It went from magnitude 17 to magnitude 2.8 over the course of a few hours. David Morrison (at NASA) who writes a newsletter about near earth objects (NEO) gives an analogy: “This is equivalent to the planet Saturn suddenly becoming as bright as the full moon.”
Before you go wild, based on this, know that
[Attempt at reconstruction of remainder of lost post follows]:
Before you go wild, based on this, know that this particular object is a yellow dot visible by naked eye in the constellation Perseus (just below Cassiopeia, in case you’re more familiar with the location of the big W of that constellation). I learned about this on Bad Astronomy, where Phil has the complete quote of David’s from the NEO newsletter (here – there are also links to further information there), as well as a post with a viewing guide for the comet’s location and a post with some pictures of his own.
This is one to watch. Perhaps it will develop further and sprout a tail…
Enjoy!
-cvj
Pingback: Comets and Meteors for the New Year - Asymptotia
Pingback: Snowball! - Asymptotia
Pingback: zooped.org » Blog Archive » Comet 17/P Holmes
Yes… that was my thought too.. It broke cover for some reason…. 😉
-cvj
Hehe, several of my friends actually suggested that perhaps the spaceship is just firing its thrusters already. 🙂 It’d make more sense than the complete mystery it is now, though I heard someone saying it might be sinkholes or some such.
Yippee, I’ve seen it and what a beautiful thing it is. A golden apple of the sun.
regards,
PS. The latest issue of Symmetry Magazine is online with the name that particle results. Not so much as a mention for my Flinton’s. Sniff.
PPS. If it’s a spaceship there’s a 50% chance it’s heading the other way 🙂
Fair enough.
“Anyway, Holmes is so much more interesting, with all it’s unusual behaviour… Hey! – maybe it’s a spaceship that’s been waiting for a long time to go active!! So there’s another reason to keep an eye on it!”
Yes indeed 🙂
–IP
My take? I decided to pass on blogging about it. It’s such a tired discussion, largely filled with ignorance, preconceptions and hatred, which I was not interested in taking part in for the umpteenth time – and anyone who has had any passing acquaintance with Watson is not at all surprised about him saying such things. Old news. Just let him retire and fade away into the noise. I wrote nothing about it since there are hundreds of energetic and thoughtful responses to read, and no shortage of coverage – I did not think I could add anything to it this time.
Anyway, Holmes is so much more interesting, with all it’s unusual behaviour… Hey! – maybe it’s a spaceship that’s been waiting for a long time to go active!! So there’s another reason to keep an eye on it! 😉
Cheers,
-cvj
I got that. It was welcome non-Watson-ness is all I meant. (Although I’d be interested in your take on that issue too.)
Cheers,
IP
It was not an accidentally chosen title.
-cvj
Too many city lights to see anything from my wee flat! I’ll keep looking though.
(When I first saw the post title, I thought this was going to be a lengthy allegory about the Watson mess. Astral activity cheered me up no end. 🙂 )
Cheers
IP
Unremitting nimbo stratus here in S. England. How very frustrating. Still, it’s nice to read up-to-the-minute blogs about it so at least some of the excitement shines through.
I wonder what the record for the furthest away naked eye comet is? This one cannot be too far off it. Hale Bopp was fainter at much the same distance on its inward leg, as far as I can tell after 2 minutes of research, and Hale Bopp was a massive comet indeed.
cheers,
I’m intrigued by its behavior. It’s not outgassing like a normal comet, it’s not close to perihelion anyway, and this behavior has been seen before, so my bright idea of a shock like a CME having some role falls flat too. Now I wonder if this object could be a perturbed centaur or if the nucleus has deep (deeper than usual) striations of easily sublimated ice (methane?) that became exposed… I wish I had time and resources now to follow this..:-(
Thanks Yvette!
-cvj
Went out to see it tonight. WOW! It’s visible from downtown Cleveland looking exactly like a bright star, as it has no visible tail even through the telescope. Through the scope, it looks like a compact planetary nebula which is very, very yellow, which is awesome too because it’s totally un-cometlike in my opinion. 😀 A general writeup and even a few pictures can be found here for anybody interested…
In conclusion, you should all go see it. Though my bet is that we’ll be hearing about this visitor for a long time- I looked it up, and this guy’s closest approach to the sun isn’t until December 1st or so.