Huge comet outburst reported, 17P/Holmes |
Huge comet outburst reported, 17P/Holmes |
Nov 15 2007, 10:40 AM
Post
#136
|
|
Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14434 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
Visible as a fuzzy blob to the naked eye last night ( beautifully clear skies here in Leciester - Mars was just spectacular)
Binos - just like a little diffuse cloud - no central brightness at all - just a little cloud. Doug |
|
|
Guest_PhilCo126_* |
Nov 15 2007, 06:11 PM
Post
#137
|
Guests |
http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/faculty/jewitt/holmes.html
Finally shows a tail in large telescopes: http://www.spaceweather.com/comets/holmes/...el-j%E4ger1.jpg |
|
|
Nov 15 2007, 06:31 PM
Post
#138
|
|
Senior Member Group: Moderator Posts: 2262 Joined: 9-February 04 From: Melbourne - Oz Member No.: 16 |
QUOTE Finally shows a tail in large telescopes: http://www.spaceweather.com/comets/holmes/...el-j%E4ger1.jpg That is quite an old picture, I think that tail disconnected last week didn't it? -------------------- |
|
|
Nov 15 2007, 06:49 PM
Post
#139
|
|
Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 3648 Joined: 1-October 05 From: Croatia Member No.: 523 |
That is quite an old picture, I think that tail disconnected last week didn't it? Yes, it was taken on 4th November. -------------------- |
|
|
Nov 15 2007, 07:18 PM
Post
#140
|
|
Member Group: Members Posts: 127 Joined: 18-July 05 Member No.: 438 |
HST images of Holmes have been released... bit more featureless than I was expecting.
|
|
|
Nov 15 2007, 09:34 PM
Post
#141
|
|
Interplanetary Dumpster Diver Group: Admin Posts: 4404 Joined: 17-February 04 From: Powell, TN Member No.: 33 |
-------------------- |
|
|
Nov 15 2007, 10:56 PM
Post
#142
|
|
Chief Assistant Group: Admin Posts: 1409 Joined: 5-January 05 From: Ierapetra, Greece Member No.: 136 |
-------------------- photographer, space imagery enthusiast, proud father and partner, and geek.
http://500px.com/sacred-photons & |
|
|
Nov 16 2007, 10:24 AM
Post
#143
|
|||
Member Group: Members Posts: 156 Joined: 18-March 05 From: Germany Member No.: 211 |
I was also successful last night. Even though there were many clouds around. When I returned home around 22:30 (21:30 UT) I noticed that it started to clear up a bit. Luckily I still had all my telescope equipment in my car. I put on some warm clothes and headed for the countryside, out of the city (near Hanover, Germany). I had just set up everything, polar aligned the scope and taken one 3 min exposure when the clouds moved in again .
There did not seem to be another chance for photos, so I put everything back into the car and headed back. I had just driven 10 km when it started to clear up, again... So I went back. This time it stayed mostly clear for a longer period and I was able to take some more pictures (about 23:45 UT). The first image is a composite of 5 x 3 min and 2 x 1 min exposures at ISO 1600 with a Canon 40D and through a Takahashi FS 60C refractor (focal length = 355 mm, f/5.9). The greenish halo and the tail visible so nicely until about a week ago are completely gone. The second image is from 4 November. It is a composite of several 2 min exposures (ISO 1600) with an AP 155 EDT (not mine, unfortunately ). Different Larson-Sekanina-filters were applied to the final image (the resulting images were than stacked) to enhance the subtle brightness variations in the coma. You can very well see three jets emanating from the center as well as some nice structures in the outer portions of the coma. The direction of the sun is to the lower left. Michael |
||
|
|||
Nov 16 2007, 05:53 PM
Post
#144
|
|
Senior Member Group: Members Posts: 2922 Joined: 14-February 06 From: Very close to the Pyrénées Mountains (France) Member No.: 682 |
Hi Michael !
Very interesting shots! You can even use the 2nd one as an art object! Who could guess it's a comet! So many details visibles. Thanks for sharing -------------------- |
|
|
Nov 17 2007, 12:09 AM
Post
#145
|
|
Founder Group: Chairman Posts: 14434 Joined: 8-February 04 Member No.: 1 |
Was trying to figure out how to take nice wide field DSLR images of this thing without any means of tracking. In the end I decided to do multiple 8s exposures at ISO 1600, then stack them up hopefully eliminating some of the noise because the subject will move.
This is the result from just 4 frames. |
|
|
Nov 17 2007, 12:33 AM
Post
#146
|
|
The Poet Dude Group: Moderator Posts: 5551 Joined: 15-March 04 From: Kendal, Cumbria, UK Member No.: 60 |
Very nice pic that Doug.
We had a great view of the comet at my astronomy society's special "Skywatch" tonight (last night now, I guess!) up here in Kendal, held next to the old ruined castle that overlooks the town. Around 30 people made the long hike up the hill to join us at the castle to see the comet, the Moon and Mars through our telescopes and binoculars, and they all seemed to enjoy themselves. The comet was still visible to the naked eye, but thrpugh binocs and 'scope it is definitely dimmer tho larger. Its "central bar" is more pronounced now in my 4.5", and it's still lovely to look at. One of the best things about tonight was that quite a few kids came up, including a couple of the girls I talked to when I gave a talk to Kendal Brownies last Monday, to help them all get their "Stargazer" badge... one of them, 9yr old astronaut-in-waiting said that the comet looked like "a spooky ghost..."! -------------------- |
|
|
Nov 20 2007, 01:10 PM
Post
#147
|
|
Merciless Robot Group: Admin Posts: 8785 Joined: 8-December 05 From: Los Angeles Member No.: 602 |
Nice article (with a very nice set of pics) about Holmes on the S&T website. Seems that its orbital history has been evolving due to Jupiter's influence, might have set up the circumstances for this outburst.
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/11372856.html -------------------- A few will take this knowledge and use this power of a dream realized as a force for change, an impetus for further discovery to make less ancient dreams real.
|
|
|
Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 25th September 2024 - 06:09 AM |
RULES AND GUIDELINES Please read the Forum Rules and Guidelines before posting. IMAGE COPYRIGHT |
OPINIONS AND MODERATION Opinions expressed on UnmannedSpaceflight.com are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of UnmannedSpaceflight.com or The Planetary Society. The all-volunteer UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderation team is wholly independent of The Planetary Society. The Planetary Society has no influence over decisions made by the UnmannedSpaceflight.com moderators. |
SUPPORT THE FORUM Unmannedspaceflight.com is funded by the Planetary Society. Please consider supporting our work and many other projects by donating to the Society or becoming a member. |