From: LARRY KLAES (ljk4_at_msn.com)
Date: Fri Oct 26 2007 - 12:45:59 PDT
>From: "AAS Press Officer Dr. Steve Maran" <Steve.Maran_at_aas.org>
>To: "AAS Press Officer Dr. Steve Maran" <steve.maran_at_aas.org>
>Subject: CfA: Old Comet is Bright for Viewing
>Date: Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:30:16 -0400
>
THE FOLLOWING RELEASE WAS RECEIVED FROM THE HARVARD-SMITHSONIAN CENTER FOR
ASTROPHYSICS, IN CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, AND IS FORWARDED FOR YOUR
INFORMATION. (FORWARDING DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT BY THE AMERICAN
ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY.) Steve Maran, American Astronomical Society
steve.maran_at_aas.org 1-202-328-2010 x116
David Aguilar
617-495-7462
daguilar_at_cfa.harvard.edu
Christine Pulliam
617-495-7463
cpulliam_at_cfa.harvard.edu
CfA Release No: 2007-27
For Immediate Release: October 26, 2007
Note to editors: High-resolution photos of Comet Holmes are available online
at http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/press/2007/pr200727_images.html
OLD COMET STILL KICKS UP ITS HEELS!
Cambridge, MA - Comet 17P/Holmes may be old, but it can still kick up its
heels and go dancing with the stars! It was discovered more than 100 years
ago, and since then has made 16 loops around the Sun. It should have fizzled
long ago, but just this week Comet Holmes surprised sky watchers with a
stunning outburst, becoming brighter than any comet in the past decade.
Moreover, Comet Holmes looks different than any other comet of our
generation. It's tailless, appearing more like a round, yellowish fuzzball
in the constellation Perseus.
The comet currently shines at 2nd or 3rd magnitude and is visible in the
northern sky. Observers at mid-northern latitudes can watch the comet all
night long. It spans an apparent diameter of 90 arc-seconds on the sky,
three times that of Jupiter. Sky charts showing where to look for the comet
are online at http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/10775326.html
and http://www.space.com/spacewatch/071025-comet-holmes.html
The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics is home to the Minor Planet
Center, which tracks known comets and asteroids, and to the Central Bureau
for Astronomical Telegrams, which announces comet discoveries, recoveries,
splittings, and outbursts.
On Thursday, the CfA public affairs office asked their organization to try
observing the comet and send in viewing reports and images. The results were
beyond all expectations, as staff on distant mountaintops and in suburban
backyards responded to the call, despite the compelling call of the Red Sox
World Series game 2.
At right, click the link for CfA staff photos offered for the world to see.
Viewers reported that the comet was unlike anything they had ever seen:
"It was very nice this morning, about 5:30. Easy naked eye in spite of a
full Moon. It was a slightly yellow fuzzball in 10 x 50 binocs, bigger in
diameter than I had expected. It was a lovely sight." - Sam Palmer (CfA)
"I saw Comet Holmes last night and this morning. It looks like a big yellow
globular cluster through binoculars. Truly a one of a kind object. I hope
more folks take the time to view it. It was holding steady at probably just
under 2nd mag and was the third brightest 'star' in Perseus as seen with the
naked eye." - Dan Rehner (CfA)
"Easy naked-eye object, even in near-Full-Moon sky. Appears to be as bright
as (or possibly slightly brighter than) delta Perseus. In small binoculars,
it is extended with a hint of color in the coma (but in moonlit and slightly
cloudy conditions difficult to judge if color is real)." - Gareth Williams
(CfA)
Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for
Astrophysics (CfA) is a joint collaboration between the Smithsonian
Astrophysical Observatory and the Harvard College Observatory. CfA
scientists, organized into six research divisions, study the origin,
evolution and ultimate fate of the universe.
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