[meteorite-list] Fw: Comet 17P (Holmes) Visible Event !

From: mexicodoug <mexicodoug_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 17:10:37 -0500
Message-ID: <00e001c8168a$b58131a0$4001a8c0_at_MICASA>

Sure, and my questions were rhetorical more than anything else (not to
compare to Halley's Comet's size, or anything like that - they are miracle
specific). What would the wise kings in Biblical times have made of this?
(rhetorical)

However, coma aside, a (now) 500,000 times increase in a few short hours is
quite remarkable by any standard - especially for something so far away, and
what has gone into this. This is not your typical comet event as you know
and is completely exploding off any graph for how magnitudes of comets
normally evolve - that is at the heart.

This event will go down as one of the most spectacular, if not the most
spectacular, of its kind ever observed. If not for the prior much lesser
outburst recorded for this comet, I would be more inclined to think it was
an impact, than anything else. This is a comet that at closest approach to
the Sun only makes a Vesta (Main belt asteroid, maximum concentration zone)
distance. It virtually appeared out of nowhere into not only the eyepiece,
but also the naked eye at 2.4+ AU. Nonetheless, your point about the coma
is well accepted.

I am blown away by rate at which it happened as the comet was already very
well far on its way out. and after all, it is traveling at 2.2 Km/s.
Best wishes,
Doug

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Peterson" <clp at alumni.caltech.edu>
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 4:33 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Fw: Comet 17P (Holmes) Visible Event !


> The size of the comet core is largely irrelevant. What matters is the size
> of the coma, since that's what is reflecting the light. And an active
> comet can easily have a coma many times larger than Mars. In reality,
> active comets are amongst the largest objects in the Solar System, even
> though their cores are amongst the smallest.
>
> Chris
>
> *****************************************
> Chris L Peterson
> Cloudbait Observatory
> http://www.cloudbait.com
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "mexicodoug" <mexicodoug at aol.com>
> To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 3:20 PM
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Fw: Comet 17P (Holmes) Visible Event !
>
>
>> Hi Again Listees,
>>
>> With regards to Comet 17P (Holmes) estimated at under 3.5 Km in diameter,
>> and being twice as far from the Earth as the planet Mars:
>>
>> How could it be one sixteenth as bright as Mars and an easy object in the
>> night sky with an almost Full Moon? No doubt it has a lot of ice
>> crystals or something white and reflective. A rought thought says that
>> in absolute terms it is one fourth the brightness of Mars if they were at
>> the same distance from us! This is because we perceive only 1/4 of the
>> light intensity due to the doubling of distance,
>>
>> It is it is hard to avoid the temptation of thinking this tiny body is of
>> relatively pristine material now confined to the Asteroid belt, but
>> before, from the Outer Solar System, and may, for once, given Jupiter his
>> dues, have been affected by a relatively close pass to the inner Solar
>> System, with Venus, Earth and Mars all aligned this month to exert their
>> gravitational attraction together. Not to mention all of the scientists
>> and collectors who would will material to Earth.
>>
>> The comet is over 40% further away from Earth as it is from Mars at the
>> moment, so I hope the guys with their hands on the controls of the Mars
>> rovers take a break and look up for us at MidSolnight, and that the Deep
>> Impact Crew is already into emergency overdrive to make the comparison
>> they will be held accountable for, now that there is a second chance
>> :-)...
>>
>> Best Skies and great health,
>> Doug
>
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Received on Wed 24 Oct 2007 06:10:37 PM PDT