Comet sudden brightness
October 27th 2007 09:33
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Comet 17P/Holmes
Comet 17P/Holmes has undergone a dramatic outburst in just 24 hours the comet became a million times brighter practically overnight it was around magnitude 23 too dim to be seen with the naked eye to magnitude 2 (easily visible to the unaided eye) no tail is yet visible it’s just a “blob” at the moment. The reason for the sudden brightness is yet unknown the most likely scenario is heat from the Sun penetrated a tiny crack in the comet’s icy core, causing it to melt and crack open abruptly, spewing out lots of dust and gas increasing the amount reflected sunlight.
Keep an eye out for Comet 2007/F1 LONEOS will be visible above the western horizon from
around Sunday October 28, when it will be relatively low to the horizon, nowhere near as bright as comet McNaught, but it should be readily visible to the unaided eye and binoculars, look carefully and you will see a fuzzy dot (possibly brighter than predicted at magnitude at magnitude 4 or 3.5). It will be very difficult to see on Sunday, without binoculars. It will be easier to see in the next few days as it rises higher in the sky.
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