Obscure Comet Brightens Suddenly

Bump.

Well it seems I am a Johnny come lately to this thread. During tonight's
local 6pm newscast on the NBC affilaite ( Tampa, Florida WFLA-CH-8)our meteorologist ( funny term to describe someone who predicts weather)
referrend to the ability of viewing the Holmes Comet in tonight's sky with the naked eye while looking in a Norheast direction after dusk. What got my attention was that he said it had "inexplicably re-appeared" in the last few weeks. Well this depiction got my attention and I did a little resarch on the web and then searched ATS. Low and behold, I find this thread.

Once again, he used the term "inexplicably re-appeared". Wow. I am going outside right now with binocs.

Kudos to OP and other great contributions to this thread.
This is exciting....regards....kk

October 31, 2007 Fort Branch, Indiana - Today I received the following email from amateur astronomer Charlie Kiesel who lives in Fort Branch, Indiana. He has sent the images of Comet Holmes seeming to erupt in two of 28 images Charlie photographed on Sunday night, October 28, 2007, at 9:59:38 PM CDT and 10:06:51 PM CDT. Charlie has sent the "erupting" images to Spaceweather.com and other NASA comet websites for comment. He told me, "Comet Holmes flared up from a magnitude 17 to magnitude 2 in just 24 hours from October 24 to 25, 2007."

Charlie Kiesel, Amateur Astronomer, Fort Branch, Indiana: "I have photographed comets for several years using camera equipment, tripod and timed exposures. I started this with Haley's Comet in 1986 and have photographed many since.

Saturday night, October 27, 2007, my wife was looking at the comet through 7 X binoculars and was sure she saw something move off and away from the comet. I didn't think much of it at the time, but the next night (Sunday, October 28), I took about thirty photographs of the comet--timed exposures of 7- 15 seconds with a Sony H1 12 X optical lens (camera specs in File/Folder Info below). I recorded two photos with something seemly being ejected from the comet or from some pieces of it which may have been blown off and to the front of the comet and then exploded into view briefly on their own.

I have contacted a local, very good astronomy club, [ I was once a member of the club--Evansville Astronomy Club, Evansville, Indiana] about the photos. I have also added links to my photos which have been posted on Spaceweather.com and a NASA site to verify my credibility. I have attached the original photos and my cropped and enhanced versions. You can view whatever was photographed by zooming in on the original photos as well. I will also attach a photo that shows nothing extra - like all the other 28 photos taken that evening (except the two)."



October 28, 2007 -
What Came Out of Comet Holmes?

See: www.earthfiles.com (sorry i'm having trouble linking to that website

You dont suppose WE as earthlings NUKED IT???


[edit on 15-11-2007 by Jbird]

Maybe we should incorporate this www.abovetopsecret.com... with this story???

reply to post by dgtempe


Comet Holmes is over 150 million miles away and safe and sound from Human interference.

Here's my favorite slooh.com pic from today...




Mod Edit: New Forum Image Linking Policy – Please Review This Link.

[edit on 15-11-2007 by Jbird]

That is an incredible photo, IAP. Best I've seen from that site.

I went out and took some quick photos myself.

This one was taken with my 8" LX200.



The comet is definitely bigger than the first time I took a picture.

This one was taken with my 80mm Nighthawk.



I was in a rush so the focus is off a little. I hope to have more time tomorrow.

[edit on 11/1/2007 by Hal9000]

Wow!!! Those pictures!!! Do you think its bigger and brighter because its GETTING CLOSER?????

I mean, if something is moving away from you its bound to get smaller and not bigger and brighter. Right?

Originally posted by dgtempe
You dont suppose WE as earthlings NUKED IT???

Hahaha very funny.... ermmm well uh what ever happened to the second Mission to Temple 1 to record the effects of that little escapade?

No no no we don't do things like that...

Scientists were evaluating Tuesday whether the Deep Impact Flyby spacecraft is capable of embarking on a second comet interception.

If little damage has been done, Henderson said the craft could be redeployed to send it on a 3.5 year cruise to Comet Boethin, which orbits the Sun every 11 years. It was discovered Jan. 4, 1975, during a routine comet-hunting scan by the late Rev. Leo Boethin of the Philippines.

www.physorg.com...

Hmmm 3/5 years from 2005....

Why do titles like this bother me?

Blowing a Hole in a Comet: Take 2

Two years ago, NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft blasted a hole in Comet Tempel 1, offering researchers their first look inside a comet. One small problem: The cloud of debris was so thick no one could clearly see the crater. But now the dust has cleared and another NASA spacecraft is returning to the scene to examine the hole Deep Impact wrought.

www.physorg.com...

Nope nothing about 'nuking' 17P/Holmes

Check this out! The aurora activity level is currently at 10!


The energy in the northern lights oval right now


The energy in the southern lights oval right now


Source


I'm not sure this might be related in any way, but I thought I should mention it...

edit to add:
Well, it was at level 10 (max) just before. I took snapshots:



[edit on 2007/11/1 by Hellmutt]

reply to post by Hal9000


wow! your pics are just as good as the slooh guys get! impressive work.

i can't wait to see what happens next.

There are some serious theories out there that comets can carry microorganisms. It has been postulated that things like the 1918 flue epidemic was caused by comet dust that contained such things.

If this cloud is dispersing rapidly, I wonder what the chances are for Earth to cross the "dust trail" as we it travel in the same direction for a while.

Just something for all you folks that get a secret kick out of fear to worry about. I personally think it unlikely, but you never know.

Originally posted by NGC2736
There are some serious theories out there that comets can carry microorganisms.

ARGGGG I can see the headlines...

COSMIC NANO BUGS INVADE EARTH....

Nanobacteria A Problem For Space Travellers, Says NASA

In this microgravity environment, nanobacteria were found to multiply five times faster compared to normal gravity on Earth, supporting earlier discoveries that microbes have radically different behavior in weightless environments. Nanobacteria were also shown to possibly be an infectious risk for crew members living in close quarters. "Hopefully, eradication or treatment of these diseases will be possible in the near future. We need more research and support to solve this puzzle, but we feel that we are close," concluded Ciftcioglu.

SOURCE


Nanobacteria: Astronauts at Highest Risk During Space Missions

February 25, 2005
Physorg.com

NASA researchers announce a potential cause of rapid kidney stone formation in astronauts on space travels. The authors of a study published in Kidney International call for a "Major Initiative" to investigate nanobacteria.

Nanobacteria (NB), a novel self-replicating, mineralizing agent, has been identified by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists as a potential culprit in kidney stone formation among astronauts. With the potential for future exploratory space missions to the moon and Mars, longer missions, and exposure to the elements of outer space, health is a major concern for astronauts.

SOURCE

Space worms land in B.C., after hopping shuttle

Source





You just HAD to open that can of worms huh?

It looks like the commet has gotten larger then when i look at it on Mon.

Could the comet be breaking up?

And for the record, the commet is moving away from earth right now.

Originally posted by dgtempe

October 31, 2007 Fort Branch, Indiana - Today I received the following email from amateur astronomer Charlie Kiesel who lives in Fort Branch, Indiana. He has sent the images of Comet Holmes seeming to erupt in two of 28 images Charlie photographed on Sunday night, October 28, 2007, at 9:59:38 PM CDT and 10:06:51 PM CDT. Charlie has sent the "erupting" images to Spaceweather.com and other NASA comet websites for comment. He told me, "Comet Holmes flared up from a magnitude 17 to magnitude 2 in just 24 hours from October 24 to 25, 2007."

Charlie Kiesel, Amateur Astronomer, Fort Branch, Indiana: "I have photographed comets for several years using camera equipment, tripod and timed exposures. I started this with Haley's Comet in 1986 and have photographed many since.

Saturday night, October 27, 2007, my wife was looking at the comet through 7 X binoculars and was sure she saw something move off and away from the comet. I didn't think much of it at the time, but the next night (Sunday, October 28), I took about thirty photographs of the comet--timed exposures of 7- 15 seconds with a Sony H1 12 X optical lens (camera specs in File/Folder Info below). I recorded two photos with something seemly being ejected from the comet or from some pieces of it which may have been blown off and to the front of the comet and then exploded into view briefly on their own.

I have contacted a local, very good astronomy club, [ I was once a member of the club--Evansville Astronomy Club, Evansville, Indiana] about the photos. I have also added links to my photos which have been posted on Spaceweather.com and a NASA site to verify my credibility. I have attached the original photos and my cropped and enhanced versions. You can view whatever was photographed by zooming in on the original photos as well. I will also attach a photo that shows nothing extra - like all the other 28 photos taken that evening (except the two)."



October 28, 2007 -
What Came Out of Comet Holmes?

See: www.earthfiles.com (sorry i'm having trouble linking to that website

You dont suppose WE as earthlings NUKED IT???

Told ya that it was probably aliens that blasted it.

FATMAN

reply to post by dgtempe

Hi DG, no we are not getting closer to the comet. According to the NASA 3D Orbital Simulator the distance is almost constant until around Nov. 15 when the distance starts to increase or move further away. Set the motion time from 1 day to 1 hour and press the >> button, then you can watch the Earth Distance number will stay the same then start to increase around Nov. 15.

The reason why the comet looks bigger in the photo is because the coma is expanding from an outburst of gas. The coma is made of gas and vapor and reflects sunlight very well in space. The comet nucleus is still very small at 3.4 km. The actual size of the coma is huge. I've seen some guestimating it to be 44,000 miles or 1/5th the distance to the Moon.

So we are in no danger, but it is an excellent light show.

It really is a fantastic comet! I have been following it in my observatory here in the UK while I wait for Mars to arrive.

All of you chaps with telescopes, have you noticed the nucleus has becomes less "stellar" in appearance? I would imagine all that material being thrown up is starting to obscure it.

This is a great thread. Applause to all the astronomers!

However, to be a well rounded thread, I expected some input from the astrological crowd. Where's it at?

*Sigh* I had to look for it myself, even though I'm not an astrologist.

Heres whats out there. (Its pretty far out there).

There is not one, but two comets brightening right now. Besides comet Holmes, comet Loneos also brightened to a magnitude 3 as it travels between the constellations Virgo and Serpens.

The second, as you know, is comet Holmes, traveling towards Perseus, (Zeus's son).

So, what we have, (astrologically speaking) is one "star" suddenly appearing at "the dragons tail", and simultaneously another "star" suddenly appears headed toward gods sons thigh.

Don't know what astrologists are making of that, but it seems, uh, rather ominous. What would the wise men of old make of this?

"Until Oct. 23, the comet had been visible to modern astronomers only with a telescope, but that night it suddenly erupted and expanded."

SOURCE

WOW! The comet suddenly and unexpectedly brightens after 23rd October. What a coincidence the space shuttle was launched, against safety advice, on this day! Did they not send an explosive device into the Tempel comet in 2005? Scientists are speculating why the comet has "exploded". Come on...

[edit on 2/11/07 by NuclearPaul]

reply to post by NuclearPaul

Having heard this theory before, I have to say it is a strange coincidence that the Shuttle launched on the same day the comet started to erupt, but the fact is the comet is 1.6 AU away, or about one and a half times as far away from Earth as the Earth is to the Sun. That is farther away than Mars, so in order to be able to hit the comet, the mission to do so would have had to be launched a year and a half ago in order to hit the comet on the 23rd.

Well here is tonight's attempt at imaging. Nothing special happening, but there are lots of background stars.




[edit on 11/2/2007 by Hal9000]

Seems dimmer tonight and the smudge seems more indistinct compared to last night.

Yes, it is definitely dimming. When I took the image I am still doing 30 second exposures, but I increased the brightness to bring it out better. If I did it exactly the same as previous images, it would be dimmer and larger.

I see this comet acting kind of like a slow motion fireworks explosion in the sky. It started out bright and small and is now expanding and dimming. Eventually, it will dim out to nothing.

[edit on 11/3/2007 by Hal9000]