* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: Comet 17P/Holmes

Blobrana · L

The comet is estimated to be less than 3.5 Km in diameter, and it had already swung by its perihelion a few months ago - It was heading outwards. It was about 2.5 AU from the Sun, which is a little bit more than the Sun-Mars distance from Earth,. Yet, at that distance, something catastrophic happened that increased the brightness by a million times.

Blobrana · L

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03:00 BST, 25th October, 2007.

Blobrana · L

Comet 17P/Holmes is showing impressive activity. The comet should have been at magnitude +16,8.
But it is currently at naked eye visibility.
Earlier yesterday, observers noted an abrupt increase in brightness of the comet, with it rising suddenly to magnitude +7, and a few hours later becoming visible to the naked eye with a magnitude estimated at +4. 0
Seiichi Yoshida, a Japanese observer announce at 13:40 UT that 17P/Holmes was visible to the naked eye from downtown Yokohama with a magnitude that he estimate at +3.5.
At 15:30 UT, Yoshida announced that the comet was at magnitude +3 and should reach magnitude +2 in the nest hour.
The comet is located in the constellation of Perseus, just beside Lambda Persei.

Blobrana · L

Images

Blobrana · L

Comet 17PHolmes.kmz
Google Sky file

-- Edited by Blobrana at 14:44, 2008-01-12

Blobrana · L

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Perseus
00:00 GMT, 25th October, 2007.
10 seconds

Blobrana · L

17P/Holmes is a periodic comet in our solar system discovered by Edwin Holmes on November 6, 1892 whilst conducting regular observations of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31).

Read more

Blobrana · L

The 17th magnitude comet 17P/Holmes currently in the constellation Perseus has rapidly brightened, becoming a magnitude 3, naked-eye object in the evening sky, according to astronomers in Japan, Persia and Europe.
A similar outburst lead to the comets discovery in November 1892.

Date    TT    R. A. (2000) Decl.     Delta      r     Elong.  Phase   m1    m2
2007 10 22    03 55.40   +49 53.1    1.642    2.428   132.5    17.6  16.9  19.9
2007 10 27    03 51.17   +50 16.6    1.630    2.447   136.3    16.3  16.9  19.9
2007 11 01    03 46.14   +50 31.9    1.623    2.467   139.9    15.0  16.9  19.8
2007 11 06    03 40.50   +50 38.3    1.620    2.486   143.2    13.8  17.0  19.8
2007 11 11    03 34.47   +50 35.4    1.623    2.506   146.0    12.8  17.0  19.8
2007 11 16    03 28.31   +50 23.1    1.631    2.526   148.2    11.9  17.1  19.8
2007 11 21    03 22.27   +50 02.1    1.646    2.546   149.4    11.4  17.2  19.8
2007 11 26    03 16.60   +49 33.0    1.666    2.567   149.7    11.2  17.2  19.8
2007 12 01    03 11.49   +48 57.0    1.692    2.587   149.0    11.3  17.3  19.9
2007 12 06    03 07.09   +48 15.5    1.724    2.608   147.3    11.8  17.4  20.0

Ephemeris