PowerSource

Physorg.com has had several articles on the suddenly-spectacular Holmes comet. The comet was discovered in 1892 and orbits the sun once every 7 years.  It was observed in 1899 and 1906, and then lost for sixty years until it was recovered in 1964. And then last week,

“On October 23rd, the comet was a dim 17th magnitude, 25,000 times too faint to be seen with the unaided eye. One day later, it had brightened to 7th magnitude, and the most recent observations peg it at magnitude 2 to 3: an increase of a factor of one million [based on astronomers’ logarithmic scale].” Via Physorg article.

So I went outside last night, looked towards the northeast, and based on the skychart below (from Sky & Telescope magazine) I found the comet pretty easily -- the triangle formed by the comet, the star Mirfak, and the third unnamed star is more eye-catching than it appears in the chart. Also, the triangle is bracketed by Cassiopeia’s “W” above, and the blur of the Pleiades to the right.

[Ooooh, product placement opportunity! I was able to confirm that the object in the triangle was indeed a comet and not a star by whipping out my Texas Instruments binoculars, which I received as a freebie at some long-forgotten conference. Which goes to show that even a really cheap pair of binoculars helps in enjoying this unusual event].

Don’t wait too long – astronomers don’t know why Holmes suddenly brightened, and they don’t know how long the brightness will last, although through the middle of November seems a safe bet.