Comet Holmes Continues to Expand
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Lydia
Site Admin
Posted:
Fri Nov 16, 2007 10:20 pm
Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Posts: 589
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Comet Holmes Continues to Expand
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According to astronomers at the University of Hawaii, Comet Holmes is still growing larger and brighter, its coma diameter reaching 869,900 miles. This makes it one of the largest objects in our solar system, even larger than the sun by 5000 miles. Its coma resembles an intriguing bow tie image.
You can find Comet Holmes this weekend gliding past Mirfak ( Alpha Persei).
Comet Holmes was discovered by the British amateur astronomer Edwin Holmes on November 6, 1892 and even then experienced an unusual brightening. This is caused by dust ejected from its icy nucleus and is the largest known outburst of any comet so far discovered. Its orbital period is 6.9 years. Strangely, the comet " disappeared " from 1899 until 1906, rediscovered by Elizabeth Roemer (US Naval Observatory, Flagstaff, Arizona) on July 16, 1964 and has been observed every return since.
Here's an observing map: Click here
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