Brinders Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 Just wondered if anyone had managed to see comet Holmes tonight? Cloud breaks between showers have enabled me to spot it easily with the naked eye. It looked particularly impressive through my 12x50 binos. The usual description of a comet being a dirty snowball seems most apt. That#s how it looked to me tonight: a fuzzy but not too distant snowball high in the night sky apparently headed my way. Amazing! Does anyone know if it will develop a tail? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 AFAIK its tail is pointing towards us heading away so unless it does a sharp right or left we wont see it, who knows... no one predicted the outburst so I guess anything can happen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew* Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I think it's heading away, tail away actually... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaptain Klevtsov Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Tail away, but pointy end towards us. Kaptain Klevtsov Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vega Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I saw it last night through the dobbo. It's flippin' HUGE. I dropped in the 32mm Wide Angle and I'm sure it looks the same size as the full moon would in that EP. Despite reports of the expansion causing it to appear dimmer, It still hasn't really lost much brightess IMO (However conditions last night were very good which might make it appear brighter than it would have if conditions were the same as in October?). Can now see a clear sharp edge on one side and definate smudging on the other of quite some distance. Our angle for viewing the tail is only gonna improve as the weeks go on.. AmazingVega Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew* Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I agree Vega - blooming bright and huge. I swear it's got bigger. Unfortunately my camera wasn't on speaking terms with the laptop and I didn't get an image Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astroman Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 I took a quick look through high clouds last night with the 6" F/9.5 Newt. It was very large, brighter in the middle and definitely non-stellar. If I remember right, the southwestern edge appeared broken and uneven as the rest of it was very smooth. The inner annulus is missing, rendering the comet with a smooth gradient in brightness from core to edge, excepting the aforementioned roughness. I'll start calling this roughness a "tail" as it stretches, but I did get the impression it was extending beyond the core ever so slightly.I'm looking forward to this weekend, as we're going away for a star party, to observe it a bit more carefully. Here's hoping the forecasted clouds stay away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxo Posted November 8, 2007 Share Posted November 8, 2007 Comet Holmes a magnificent naked eye object this evening. I guess the 40mph winds keeping the atmosphere clear (compared with the normal seeing in the light polluted skies of NE England). An even more breathtaking sight through the 15x70 bins , though these are proving a bit difficult to handle and not get blown away.Weather looks better for tomorrow!Paxo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old codger Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 Yep can confirm a smudgy outline to the south west and clear cut for the rest, as seen in 15x70 binos and 5ins Bresser refractor. Good viewing last night. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew* Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 when i saw it naked eye the other night, it clearly wasn't a star as it was large and fuzzy. It definitely wasn't like that last time I saw it. Got to be the best astronomical event of the year... the moon eclipse in March taking 2nd 8)Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 The comet IMO has become a lot harder to see with the naked eye.I'm sure that the brightness is around the same, but the size is so much bigger. So it's contrast against the background sky has diminished.Really looking forward to getting the scope back on it.Ant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naz Posted November 9, 2007 Share Posted November 9, 2007 Had the 120 ST on it tonight, certainly larger and I think dimmer, although overall brightness is probably the same.The outer shell has a definite edge to one side and a disintegration on the other. The centre area has elongated with a bright point towards the smooth side and fading to the uneven side. To me, it looks as though the tail in this area, pointing away behind the outer cloud.Certainly a spectacular event, glad to have seen it over so many nights.naz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Galvin Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 Total cloud here in Scouseland, Murkyside, which is a shame since http://www.spaceweather.com/ has just given out a news flash that Comet Holmes could be losing its tail or certainly going through some change. I would love to see some up todate images if anyone has a clear sky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brinders Posted November 13, 2007 Author Share Posted November 13, 2007 Weather been a little mixed here, but I managed to capture a couple of images of Comet Holmes last Thursday and Sunday November 8th and 11th with my DSLR. It appears to becoming larger but more diffuse. This was particularly noticeable through my TAL 6 inch Newtonian. Looked at it again through the binos tonight. Appears even larger but fainter and even more diffuse.(click to enlarge)(click to enlarge)Edit Ant: made images appear correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azelfafage Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 Crystal clear over N West Mids tonight. Comet isn't that obvious to me now with the naked eye if one didn't know where it was in the first place Through 10 x 50's it's definitely got dimmer than when I last observed a few days back. A Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 Good clear sky last night so my eldest son and his girlfriend had a look through the the 12x50's at the comet. I also pointed them to M42 but couldn't get them to stay out in the cold while I set the scope up. Still at least they looked...CheersHugh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brinders Posted November 15, 2007 Author Share Posted November 15, 2007 No, the comet is becoming far less distinct. I again viewed it through my TAL 150P last night and the best views were wide-field with the 25mm eyepiece, anything more powerfull just wasn't worth bothering with. Background stars can now be clearly seen through the coma. Too much cloud tonight, but I suspect we have already seen the best of Comet Holmes. Just can't understand why it hasn't attracted more media coverage in this country. Seems to have received more attention in the States. Still, it was great while it lasted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beyond_Vision Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 With Holmes approaching Mirfak in Perseus I took a look at it through my 20*80 Helios bins. Well all I can say it was an awesome view I could make out the false nuecleus the inner and outer coma and the dark band to the left. The comet was bulging out to the lower right hand side which is the tail leading the comet away from us.RegardsKevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supernova Posted November 17, 2007 Share Posted November 17, 2007 I thought the tail had broken away? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beyond_Vision Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 I think there has been a disconnection event of the tail i.e a gap probably due to a gust in the solar wind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talitha Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 I popped out at 6:45 (00:45 UT) but didn't stay out for more than a minute or so because it was only 9°F outside. Holmes was easily seen with averted vision and vaguely seen with direct vision. Through the 11x70s it looked like a huge puff of smoke.. a VERY huge puff of smoke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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