| NOTES |
DATE:
|
Thursday,
October 25, 2007
|
TIME:
|
10:28
- 10:33 pm EDT
|
CAMERA:
|
Philips
ToUcam Pro (640x480)
|
LOCATION:
|
Owl
Observatory - Kalamazoo Nature Center |
INSTRUMENT:
|
12"
LX200 Schmidt-Cassegrain |
PROCESSING:
|
Images
acquired with IRIS. RegiStax 4.0 aligned and stacked 1,357
of 2,100 images (from two separate AVI files). Further
enhancements made
with Adobe Photoshop 7.0 |
COMMENTS:
|
Comet
Holmes, discovered by English amateur astronomer Edwin
Holmes in November 1892, was making a quiet return to the inner solar
system
until October 24, 2007.
A dramatic eruption occurred, sending out vast amounts of dust and
gas
from the icy nucleus. The comet increased from approximately 18
to 2.5
magnitude; a factor of about one million! The nucleus is hidden
deep
within the star-like point in the center of the fuzzy coma seen
here.
Below and to the right of the nucleus is a fan-shaped feature -
possibly a jet
emanating from the comet's surface. At the time, the comet was
located
between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter so no tail was visible. |
|
