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Comet's fame keeps growing, and growing ...
Holmes attracts increased interest; celestial show could last for weeks
Image: Comet Holmes
Doug Murray / Reuters
Comet Holmes is seen in this photo taken through a telescope from Palm
Beach Gardens, Fla., on Sunday.
View related photos
Video
Comet visible to naked eye
Nov. 5: A comet has unexpectedly brightened making it visible to the
naked eye. MSNBC's Tamron Hall reports.
MSNBC.com
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Space Shots
Oct. 16 - Nov. 5: See a spacewalker's view of the world, vistas from
other planets and more of the best pictures in the cosmos.
updated 9:37 a.m. ET, Mon., Nov. 5, 2007
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - A comet that has unexpectedly brightened in the
past couple of weeks and now is visible to the naked eye is attracting
professional and amateur interest.
Paul Lewis, director of astronomy outreach at the University of
Tennessee, is drawing students to the roof of Nielsen Physics Building
for special viewings of Comet 17P/Holmes.
The comet is exploding and its coma, a cloud of gas and dust
illuminated by the sun, has grown to be bigger than the planet Jupiter.
The comet lacks the tail usually associated with such celestial bodies
but can be seen in the northern sky, in the constellation Perseus, as
a fuzzy spot of light about as bright as the stars in the Big Dipper.
"This is truly a celestial surprise," Lewis said. "Absolutely amazing."
Until Oct. 23, the comet had been visible to modern astronomers only
with a telescope, but that night it suddenly erupted and expanded.
A similar burst in 1892 led to the comet's discovery by Edwin Holmes.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime event to witness, along the lines of
when Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smashed into Jupiter back in 1994," Lewis
said.
Click for related content
How to find the comet
Comet has just a hint of a tail
Interactive: Anatomy of a comet
Discuss: Share your sightings
Scientists speculate the comet has exploded because there are
sinkholes in its nucleus, giving it a honeycomblike structure. The
collapse exposed comet ice to the sun, which transformed the ice into gas.
"What comets do when they are near the sun is very unpredictable,"
Lewis said. "We expect to see a coma cloud and a tail, but this is
more like an explosion, and we are seeing the bubble of gas and dust
as it expands away from the center of the blast."
Experts aren't sure how long the comet's show will last, but estimate
it could be weeks if not months. Using a telescope or binoculars
help bring the comet's details into view, they said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21636369/
Holmes attracts increased interest; celestial show could last for weeks
Image: Comet Holmes
Doug Murray / Reuters
Comet Holmes is seen in this photo taken through a telescope from Palm
Beach Gardens, Fla., on Sunday.
View related photos
Video
Comet visible to naked eye
Nov. 5: A comet has unexpectedly brightened making it visible to the
naked eye. MSNBC's Tamron Hall reports.
MSNBC.com
Related Stories
| What's this?
Comet Visible in the Iowa Sky
Skywatchers marvel at surprise comet
Dazzling comet has hint of invisible tail
Most popular
Most Viewed Top Rated Most E-mailed
Slide show
Space Shots
Oct. 16 - Nov. 5: See a spacewalker's view of the world, vistas from
other planets and more of the best pictures in the cosmos.
updated 9:37 a.m. ET, Mon., Nov. 5, 2007
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - A comet that has unexpectedly brightened in the
past couple of weeks and now is visible to the naked eye is attracting
professional and amateur interest.
Paul Lewis, director of astronomy outreach at the University of
Tennessee, is drawing students to the roof of Nielsen Physics Building
for special viewings of Comet 17P/Holmes.
The comet is exploding and its coma, a cloud of gas and dust
illuminated by the sun, has grown to be bigger than the planet Jupiter.
The comet lacks the tail usually associated with such celestial bodies
but can be seen in the northern sky, in the constellation Perseus, as
a fuzzy spot of light about as bright as the stars in the Big Dipper.
"This is truly a celestial surprise," Lewis said. "Absolutely amazing."
Until Oct. 23, the comet had been visible to modern astronomers only
with a telescope, but that night it suddenly erupted and expanded.
A similar burst in 1892 led to the comet's discovery by Edwin Holmes.
"This is a once-in-a-lifetime event to witness, along the lines of
when Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smashed into Jupiter back in 1994," Lewis
said.
Click for related content
How to find the comet
Comet has just a hint of a tail
Interactive: Anatomy of a comet
Discuss: Share your sightings
Scientists speculate the comet has exploded because there are
sinkholes in its nucleus, giving it a honeycomblike structure. The
collapse exposed comet ice to the sun, which transformed the ice into gas.
"What comets do when they are near the sun is very unpredictable,"
Lewis said. "We expect to see a coma cloud and a tail, but this is
more like an explosion, and we are seeing the bubble of gas and dust
as it expands away from the center of the blast."
Experts aren't sure how long the comet's show will last, but estimate
it could be weeks if not months. Using a telescope or binoculars
help bring the comet's details into view, they said.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21636369/
Magdalena8
Don't you want to see this outstanding event. Things like this make my life worth living.
deleted_user
I do Ido!!!
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I have been here before, a long long time ago and now I am back.Forgive me for not just saying what I want to say,even under a triple dose of antidepressants it is still raw and seeping and I am hesitant at revealing it as at least under the bandages around my heart I don,t have to look at how raw and wounded.My child was cleaved from my heart by his own actions. my child of ten,turning eleven...
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theatre and I are there already. I'm having a very berry tea with crackers, cheese and cherry tomatoes and she's having a joint with some beer and we're both on really comfy recliners on thick pile carpet. we need some help with the decor if anyone is around??
