Comet visible without a telescope!

[Nightingale 0]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/11/05/brighter.comet.ap/index.html

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- A comet that unexpectedly brightened in the last couple of weeks and is now visible to the naked eye is attracting professional and amateur interest.
art.comet.ap.jpg

Comet 17P/Holmes is seen among the stars of the constellation Perseus in the North-Eastern sky.

Paul Lewis, director of astronomy outreach at the University of Tennessee, is drawing students to the roof of the Nielsen Physics Building for special viewings of Comet 17P/Holmes.

The comet is exploding and its coma, a cloud of gas and dust illuminated by the sun, has grown to be bigger than the planet Jupiter. The comet lacks the tail usually associated with such celestial bodies but can be seen in the northern sky, in the constellation Perseus, as a fuzzy spot of light about as bright as the stars in the Big Dipper.

"This is truly a celestial surprise," Lewis said. "Absolutely amazing."

Until October 23, the comet had been visible to modern astronomers only with a telescope, but that night it suddenly erupted and expanded.

A similar burst in 1892 led to the comet's discovery by Edwin Holmes.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime event to witness, along the lines of when Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smashed into Jupiter back in 1994," Lewis said.

Scientists speculate the comet has exploded because there are sinkholes in its nucleus, giving it a honeycomb-like structure. The collapse exposed comet ice to the sun, which transformed the ice into gas.

"What comets do when they are near the sun is very unpredictable," Lewis said. "We expect to see a coma cloud and a tail, but this is more like an explosion, and we are seeing the bubble of gas and dust as it expands away from the center of the blast."

Experts aren't sure how long the comet's show will last but estimate it could be weeks if not months. Using a telescope or binoculars help bring the comet's details into view, they said.

[turtlespeed 212]

ok - pretend I'm stupid . . . . . . and do a diagram of where it is.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[airtwardo 6]

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ok - pretend I'm stupid . . . . . . and do a diagram of where it is.

PRETEND???

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[Nightingale 0]

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ok - pretend I'm stupid . . . . . . and do a diagram of where it is.

Just look for something really bright to the north east.

[Andrewwhyte 1]

I think I saw it last night. It looked a bit like Mars except it was way to far from the ecliptic.

[turtlespeed 212]

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ok - pretend I'm stupid . . . . . . and do a diagram of where it is.

Just look for something really bright to the north east.

Could you have the clown point it out for me?

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[airtwardo 6]

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ok - pretend I'm stupid . . . . . . and do a diagram of where it is.

Just look for something really bright to the north east.

Could you have the clown point it out for me?

I see the problem...First you need to go OUTSIDE!

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[turtlespeed 212]

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ok - pretend I'm stupid . . . . . . and do a diagram of where it is.

Just look for something really bright to the north east.

Could you have the clown point it out for me?

I see the problem...First you need to go OUTSIDE!

Oh.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[IanHarrop 37]

use this site, with your location, to help you see all kinds of neat things in the sky.

www.heavens-above.com

Yes there is info about this comet.

Comet info with my location http://www.heavens-above.com/comet.aspx?cid=17P&lat=51.083&lng=-114.083&loc=Calgary&alt=1097&tz=MST

"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy

[popsjumper 2]

Damn...There really are some bozos in the world.
True story.

Visiting jumper: Where's the comet?

Farmer: Look towards the NE

Vistor: I don't see it.

Farmer: Dude, go outside!

Vistor: Which way is NE?

Farmer: Thataway ---->

Vistor: I still don't see it.

Farmer: Get out from under the overhang and go out into the yard.

Vistor: You're screwing withe me. I still don't see it.

Farmer: Do you have your glasses?

Vistor: Oh

Farmer: *sigh*

Vistor: I still don't see it.

Farmer: *sigh* OK...we're screwing with you. Now sit back down to the poker game.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[riddler 0]

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Vistor: Which way is NE?

As a city-dweller, I take insult that we don't know basic directions. It's easy - half our streets point north-south, and the other half point east-west 'Course the visitor coulda been from the suburbs, I guess

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD

[ryoder 1,381]

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Vistor: Which way is NE?

As a city-dweller, I take insult that we don't know basic directions. It's easy - half our streets point north-south, and the other half point east-west 'Course the visitor coulda been from the suburbs, I guess

When I lived in IN, yes that was the case. But since moving to CO, I've NEVER lived on a street that was N-S or E-W.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Andrewwhyte 1]

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When I lived in IN, yes that was the case. But since moving to CO, I've NEVER lived on a street that was N-S or E-W.

So what? Look at the North Star. Duh.

[popsjumper 2]

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...As a city-dweller, I take insult that we don't know basic directions. It's easy - half our streets point north-south, and the other half point east-west 'Course the visitor coulda been from the suburbs, I guess

As a city-dweller...you probably never knew that there were actual stars in the sky at night.

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[pirana 0]

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But since moving to CO, I've NEVER lived on a street that was N-S or E-W.

Ah yes doctor, the patient suffers from Curvilinear Avenitis, compounded by Cul-de-Sacarosis.

" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

[GARYC24 3]

Here's a good photo from the guy below. I could not find any from California. I looked last night, didn't see anything that stood out.

Mark van der Hum,
Naarden, The Netherlands
Oct. 29, 2007 #1, #2 Comet17P/Holmes and the moon photographed with the same configuration.

Photo details: Meade 10" LX-200, 35mm.Panoptic eyepieceprojection. Nikon coolpix 4500. 8 sec. ISO 400(comet).

[riddler 0]

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As a city-dweller...you probably never knew that there were actual stars in the sky at night.

Of COURSE I know what stars are. A few nights a year, when all the pollution is down, you can see both of them from downtown. One's called Venus, and the other's called the moon.

Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD