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Comet Holmes 17p: A bright, oddball Halloween visitor from Deep Space
The public is invited to come and observe Comet Holmes 17P, a very unusual visitor from the outer solar system! Visitors to the Flandrau Science Center Observatory will enjoy views through a 16-inch telescope of the brightest comet in the night sky since Comet Hale-Bopp in 1997. The Observatory will be open to the public for special comet viewings on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 29 and 30, from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Regular telescope viewing hours at the Observatory are Wednesday through Saturday, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., weather permitting. Come and see a stunning view through a large telescope! Entrance to the Flandrau Observatory is free, or visitors may make a voluntary $1 contribution.
Comets are small icy and dusty bodies from the outer Solar System which can have unusual orbits that sometimes carry them very close to the Sun. Scientists believe that comets are pristine pieces of matter left over from the formation of the Solar System over four billion years ago. As they travel closer to the Sun, energetic particles emitted by our local star (the "solar wind") cause some of the ice and dust particles to fly off into space into a halo of dust and ice called a coma. Even nearer to the Sun where the solar wind is stronger, this trail of ice and dust from the comet can develop into a beautiful tail streaming into space.
Small, faint Comet Holmes 17P surprised astronomy observers around the globe by suddenly becoming bright enough (at a visual magnitude rating of 2.5, a measure of brightness that astronomers use) to see with the naked eye on Oct. 25. Earlier in the month it had been one million times fainter (at a magnitude of +17) and not visible to the unaided eye. The comet, now located in the constellation Perseus in the northeastern night sky, became even brighter on Oct. 26 and 27, and now looks like a fuzzy, yellowish star with the unaided eye. The smaller the number is for an object's magnitude, the brighter the object is, and negative magnitudes are very bright objects. The brightest star in the sky, Sirius, has a magnitude of -1.42, with negative numbers showing even brighter objects. The brightest planet in the night sky, Venus, has a magnitude from -4.1 to -4.4.
Why The Outburst?
Why did this comet suddenly become millions of times brighter in a few days, or perhaps even in a few hours? What is the source of the energy needed to do this? Does it come from inside the comet, or is something outside affecting it? The reasons why Comet Holmes has had such an explosive outburst are not understood at all. Some scientists are wondering if it has developed a large crack, or fissure, and this is causing more dust and ice to stream away from it. Or it could be an out gassing event reflecting sunlight, possibly related to ice melting over a gas-filled cavern. It might even be a partial breakup of the comet's nucleus.
Amazingly, it already made its closest to the Sun last May, at 191 million miles (307 million kilometers) from the Sun. The comet is now moving away from the Sun and currently is quite far out from Earth at a distance of 151 million miles (243 million kilometers), where the effects of the Sun on it are less. In spite of this, Loretta McKibben, (a volunteer telescope operator at Flandrau), noted that the coma of the comet increased in size about 10% on Saturday, October 27, from views seen the night before.
No Tail!
Comet Holmes is not as dramatic as some previous comets because it does not have the characteristic tail that makes some of these frozen wanderers so beautiful. Instead, it appears as a fuzzy, star like object, but with no noticeable tail. And since it is now moving away from the Sun, it probably will not develop a dramatic tail the way previous comets have. In spite of this, it is easy to spot even with a nearly full Moon in the sky; bright moonlight can sometimes "wash out" dimmer objects in the sky.
From Jupiter's Neighborhood
Edwin Holmes in London, England discovered comet Holmes in November 1892, and it was spotted again in the 1960s. This comet is part of Jupiter's "family" of comets-a group in of icy bodies, which cluster around the orbit of Jupiter, and takes 6.88 years to make one circuit around the Sun. Jupiter's powerful gravity has altered the orbits of Comet Holmes over time. The comet was considered "lost" for nearly 60 years before it was finally recovered with a large observatory telescope in 1964.
Comet Holmes is not alone in exhibiting anomalous effects. In the past, other comets have undergone unexpected outbursts in brightness. This is not the first outburst for Comet Holmes: when it was discovered in 1892, it was in outburst mode, since it became as bright as fourth magnitude and was dimly visible to the naked eye.
The Comet's Future
As to what Comet Holmes will do in the coming weeks is not known. If you have your own binoculars or a small telescope, use the Perseus constellation diagram to locate this comet. Perseus is in the northeast sky after sunset, and appears almost directly overhead at about midnight for the next few weeks. Viewers all report the comet as appearing star-like. The comet should appear as a slightly fuzzy, white to yellowish star to the unaided eye. Binoculars and/or a low powered telescope are recommended to spot the comet.
More Information
Special viewing of the comet is scheduled on Tuesday evenings, Oct. 30 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Observatory, and is free and open to the public. The Flandrau Observatory is normally open and free to the public from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Wednesday through Saturdays. Telescope viewing is always available during these hours, weather permitting. Flandrau is located on the northeast corner of Cherry and University on the main University of Arizona campus. After 5 p.m. free parking is available at any UA metered parking space, or in the Cherry St. parking garage south of Flandrau. See http://www.flandrau.org for more information. A picture of the comet which shows how the comet will approximately appear in Flandrau Science Center's 16-inch telescope is posted at: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html for Oct. 29.
For more information about viewing this comet see the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association information page at: http://www.tucsonastronomy.org/comets/holmes.
Additional information will be available on the Flandrau Science Center homepage starting Oct. 31 at: http://www.gotuasciencecenter.org/astronomy/observatory or call Flandrau Science Center's astronomy newsline at 520-621-4310. Also a menu option off of 621-STAR.
Comets are small icy and dusty bodies from the outer Solar System which can have unusual orbits that sometimes carry them very close to the Sun. Scientists believe that comets are pristine pieces of matter left over from the formation of the Solar System over four billion years ago. As they travel closer to the Sun, energetic particles emitted by our local star (the "solar wind") cause some of the ice and dust particles to fly off into space into a halo of dust and ice called a coma. Even nearer to the Sun where the solar wind is stronger, this trail of ice and dust from the comet can develop into a beautiful tail streaming into space.
Small, faint Comet Holmes 17P surprised astronomy observers around the globe by suddenly becoming bright enough (at a visual magnitude rating of 2.5, a measure of brightness that astronomers use) to see with the naked eye on Oct. 25. Earlier in the month it had been one million times fainter (at a magnitude of +17) and not visible to the unaided eye. The comet, now located in the constellation Perseus in the northeastern night sky, became even brighter on Oct. 26 and 27, and now looks like a fuzzy, yellowish star with the unaided eye. The smaller the number is for an object's magnitude, the brighter the object is, and negative magnitudes are very bright objects. The brightest star in the sky, Sirius, has a magnitude of -1.42, with negative numbers showing even brighter objects. The brightest planet in the night sky, Venus, has a magnitude from -4.1 to -4.4.
Why The Outburst?
Why did this comet suddenly become millions of times brighter in a few days, or perhaps even in a few hours? What is the source of the energy needed to do this? Does it come from inside the comet, or is something outside affecting it? The reasons why Comet Holmes has had such an explosive outburst are not understood at all. Some scientists are wondering if it has developed a large crack, or fissure, and this is causing more dust and ice to stream away from it. Or it could be an out gassing event reflecting sunlight, possibly related to ice melting over a gas-filled cavern. It might even be a partial breakup of the comet's nucleus.
Amazingly, it already made its closest to the Sun last May, at 191 million miles (307 million kilometers) from the Sun. The comet is now moving away from the Sun and currently is quite far out from Earth at a distance of 151 million miles (243 million kilometers), where the effects of the Sun on it are less. In spite of this, Loretta McKibben, (a volunteer telescope operator at Flandrau), noted that the coma of the comet increased in size about 10% on Saturday, October 27, from views seen the night before.
No Tail!
Comet Holmes is not as dramatic as some previous comets because it does not have the characteristic tail that makes some of these frozen wanderers so beautiful. Instead, it appears as a fuzzy, star like object, but with no noticeable tail. And since it is now moving away from the Sun, it probably will not develop a dramatic tail the way previous comets have. In spite of this, it is easy to spot even with a nearly full Moon in the sky; bright moonlight can sometimes "wash out" dimmer objects in the sky.
From Jupiter's Neighborhood
Edwin Holmes in London, England discovered comet Holmes in November 1892, and it was spotted again in the 1960s. This comet is part of Jupiter's "family" of comets-a group in of icy bodies, which cluster around the orbit of Jupiter, and takes 6.88 years to make one circuit around the Sun. Jupiter's powerful gravity has altered the orbits of Comet Holmes over time. The comet was considered "lost" for nearly 60 years before it was finally recovered with a large observatory telescope in 1964.
Comet Holmes is not alone in exhibiting anomalous effects. In the past, other comets have undergone unexpected outbursts in brightness. This is not the first outburst for Comet Holmes: when it was discovered in 1892, it was in outburst mode, since it became as bright as fourth magnitude and was dimly visible to the naked eye.
The Comet's Future
As to what Comet Holmes will do in the coming weeks is not known. If you have your own binoculars or a small telescope, use the Perseus constellation diagram to locate this comet. Perseus is in the northeast sky after sunset, and appears almost directly overhead at about midnight for the next few weeks. Viewers all report the comet as appearing star-like. The comet should appear as a slightly fuzzy, white to yellowish star to the unaided eye. Binoculars and/or a low powered telescope are recommended to spot the comet.
More Information
Special viewing of the comet is scheduled on Tuesday evenings, Oct. 30 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the Observatory, and is free and open to the public. The Flandrau Observatory is normally open and free to the public from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Wednesday through Saturdays. Telescope viewing is always available during these hours, weather permitting. Flandrau is located on the northeast corner of Cherry and University on the main University of Arizona campus. After 5 p.m. free parking is available at any UA metered parking space, or in the Cherry St. parking garage south of Flandrau. See http://www.flandrau.org for more information. A picture of the comet which shows how the comet will approximately appear in Flandrau Science Center's 16-inch telescope is posted at: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html for Oct. 29.
For more information about viewing this comet see the Tucson Amateur Astronomy Association information page at: http://www.tucsonastronomy.org/comets/holmes.
Additional information will be available on the Flandrau Science Center homepage starting Oct. 31 at: http://www.gotuasciencecenter.org/astronomy/observatory or call Flandrau Science Center's astronomy newsline at 520-621-4310. Also a menu option off of 621-STAR.
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