Huge comet outburst reported, 17P/Holmes Options

[Elias]

I didnt know in which category of the forum this should be reported:

http://www.fototime.com/%7BE39A64F6-CE74-4...%7D/picture.JPG
http://perso.orange.fr/fkometes/images/com...422-9x5sz05.JPG

Comet 17p/Holmes from 15 mag to 3!!

Already visible to naked eye!

[jamescanvin]

Thanks for the heads up.

More information, inc finding chart here.

Now if only these dam clouds would lift.

J

[Ames]

Wow he is correct. Magnitude graph and finder chart here.

[ugordan]

Wow. What's the probability we witnessed this baby breaking up?

[ngunn]

Thanks, folks! I'll be out looking in a few hours.

[stevesliva]

Wow. What's the probability we witnessed this baby breaking up?

Sounds like it was discovered during/after a big outburst... but that the perihelion has been increasing since then.
http://cometography.com/pcomets/017p.html

[Stu]

Here's where to look folks...





(position plotted on Starry Night Pro, blame them if it's wrong! )

[djellison]

Thank god I got my 15x70's off my boss who 'borrowed' them for about a month

Doug

[Stu]

This is the latest from the British Astronomical Association...

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In the past 24 hours, a spectacular event has taken place involving the periodic comet P/Holmes (17P). Its predicted brightness is about magnitude 17 however last night it was discovered by the Spanish amateur, Juan Antonio Henríquez Santana to have undergone a tremendous outburst having attained magnitude 10 at that time (Oct 24 0h UT). It was a similar outburst in 1892 that led to its discovery.

Latest reports (Seiichi Yoshida, Oct 24 13h UT) indicate that it is stellar in appearance and 3RD MAGNITUDE in brightness: so bright in fact that it is readily visible to the unaided eye. That's almost one million times brighter than normal !

Fortunately for UK-based observers the comet is well placed for observation and is visible throughout the entire night. Its position at 0h UT tonight (Oct 24/25) will be:

R.A. 03h 53.0m, Dec. +50 08'

Its appearance will probably be that of a fairly bright naked-eye star moving at an apparent rate of close to 10 arcmin per day at PA 298 deg. It is currently 1.63 AU (245 million km) from the Earth.


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Of course, after 3 gorgeously clear nights here in Kendal it's totally (chink) overcast tonight...

[Marz]

Zoiks! If Holmes exploded, is there going to be a cone of cometlets coming to visit in 2014?

I'll have to look for it tonight. I hope it's not fading already.

[akuo]

Thanks guys. I'm a keen comet observer and this was the first I saw of this news. Too bad it looks like it will be cloudy for the whole night here.

[dvandorn]

And my guess here is that it won't be visible to observers in the Western Hemisphere... *sigh*...

-the other Doug

[Stu]

Hey oDoug,

It will be just as visible from Minneapolis as from where I am The finder charts I posted are fine for your part of the world too. As long as you can see perseus you can look for the comet.

[Paolo]

Of course, after 3 gorgeously clear nights here in Kendal it's totally (chink) overcast tonight...

The same in Milan!

[akuo]

The comet is well placed for anyone in mid-northern latitudes and northward. Perseus is quite high already when it gets dark, and it gets higher in the sky during the night. All you need is some clear weather. For the rest of the northern hemisphere its still visible.

Seiichi Yoshida now reports that the comet has stabilised at 2.8 mag. This would make it look like a bright new star in Perseus (its reported to be stellar in appearance).