Comet 17P Holmes, a very obscure and dim object to say the least only 30 hours
ago, is
blazing away at a brightness increase rarely seen before in such a short period
of time,
rising more than 15-16 magnitudes since October 23. Now at brightness 2.0 (ASO,
Oct. 25
UT, 04:10) and perhaps still brightening, this comet must be watched
continuously for
the next several weeks.
It appears as you seen in the first light photo from ASO; this is an RGB color
image
from an ST 401-ME camera, 12 second images in each color and combined. No post
processing, just a raw image, showing the brilliant round yellow-green huge
(nearly 3
arc minutes across) coma. The very high contrast negative imaging reveals a
possible
dust tail coming nearly due north (down) from the comet as well as one streaming
from
the south side of the coma. The image was taken with a 0.4m SCT at f/3 at the
observatory (Harvard MPC H45) at Petit Jean Mountain in Arkansas.
This unusual "round comet" to be so bright without a tail or irregularity is
something
very extraordinary. The comet can easily be seen with the naked eye, but even
binoculars and telescopes give the impression that the viewer is peering at a
very
bright star.
The field of view in both ASO images is 12 arc ' by 7' with SOUTH up.
For those with no image attached, please visit the report with both color and
high
contrast negative (showing possible dispersion from the coma), at the Arkansas
Sky
Observatory (ASO) website under the "ASO News Links" on the home page at:
http://www.arksky.org/ |
显身卡
