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Comet Holmes - October 25,
2007
Comet Holmes was
discovered on November 6, 1892 by Edwin Holmes, London,
England. It has an orbital period of 7.07 years, a
perihelion distance of 2.1655 Astronomical Units and an
aphelion of 5.2004 AU. It's last perihelion date was May
4th, 2007.
Growth of Comet Holmes' coma
and comparison of size to Earth and Jupiter
The comet
surprised the astronomical community in October when it
experienced an "outburst," suddenly blooming in brightness a
millionfold. On October 20, it was 18th magnitude
object--far fainter than what is visible to the unaided
human eye. Around October 24 and 25, Comet Holmes was
being rated at about magnitude 2.8--easily visible to the
eye.
The picture above
was taken on October 25th in the early morning, in the
constellation Perseus. The
comet's bright, pinpoint nucleus is easily visible, set
inside an almost perfectly circular coma.
For more
information on this comet, read this
Sky and Telescope article. |
