[meteorite-list] Comet surprise makes it visible to naked eye

From: Jason Utas <meteoritekid_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Mon, 5 Nov 2007 18:09:25 -0800
Message-ID: <93aaac890711051809mab23c80rd9e6d05150658d6b_at_mail.gmail.com>

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/space/11/05/brighter.comet.ap/index.html

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee (AP) -- A comet that unexpectedly brightened in
the last couple of weeks and is now visible to the naked eye is
attracting professional and amateur interest.

[image]
Comet 17P/Holmes is seen among the stars of the constellation Perseus
in the North-Eastern sky.

 Paul Lewis, director of astronomy outreach at the University of
Tennessee, is drawing students to the roof of the 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 October 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.

Scientists speculate the comet has exploded because there are
sinkholes in its nucleus, giving it a honeycomb-like 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. E-mail to a friend

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Received on Mon 05 Nov 2007 09:09:25 PM PST