Huge comet outburst reported, 17P/Holmes |
Huge comet outburst reported, 17P/Holmes |
Oct 24 2007, 02:11 PM
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#1
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Junior Member Group: Members Posts: 30 Joined: 30-May 05 Member No.: 396 |
I didnt know in which category of the forum this should be reported:
http://www.fototime.com/%7BE39A64F6-CE74-4...%7D/picture.JPG http://perso.orange.fr/fkometes/images/com...422-9x5sz05.JPG Comet 17p/Holmes from 15 mag to 3!! Already visible to naked eye! |
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Oct 24 2007, 11:41 PM
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Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8789 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
Pics, please, gentlemen, if you can...not only am I in LA, but the whole area's covered with smoke from these damned wildfires (cough, cough...)
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Oct 25 2007, 08:37 AM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3652 Joined: 1-October 05 From: Croatia Member No.: 523 |
Pics, please, gentlemen, if you can.. Via SpaceWeather.com comes this one: http://www.spaceweather.com/comets/holmes/...Eric-Allen1.jpg It really looks like an instantaneous, symmetrical release of volatiles which are now slowly expanding to form a visible coma. The comet's brightness might stay the same (or even increase a bit) until this coma dissipates and changes the comet's appearance from a star-like object to a fuzzy, dim blob. I can't imagine what could have triggered such an event. An impact comes to mind, but are we really expected to see such a rare event, statistically speaking? Was it a simple case of falling apart under thermal stress? Who needs Deep Impact when you've got this. -------------------- |
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Oct 25 2007, 09:17 AM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3516 Joined: 4-November 05 From: North Wales Member No.: 542 |
An impact comes to mind, but are we really expected to see such a rare event, statistically speaking? I was wondering that too. It seems to have been so sudden. Most comet break-ups are protracted, multi-staged affairs. You'd need a huge build-up of internal pressure to produce a single explosive event as this seems to have been. A collision could certainly do it. It's only a single event so maybe statistics are a poor guide. Let's hope observations can narrow down the possibilities. |
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Oct 25 2007, 09:23 AM
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3652 Joined: 1-October 05 From: Croatia Member No.: 523 |
Are there any constraints about its rotational period? I'm wondering if a fast enough rotation would homogenize the coma even with a directional outburst. An impact would probably not be symmetric unless the whole thing got blown up. We'll need some more observations to see if there's a directional component to the outgassing.
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Oct 25 2007, 09:32 AM
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#6
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Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3516 Joined: 4-November 05 From: North Wales Member No.: 542 |
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