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

From: Jerry <grf2_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:10:57 -0400
Message-ID: <D97D5C19C909489DA1A1EE06EE366BE9_at_Notebook>

Given the improbability of solar excitation because of the mighty distance,
could a mighty collisional event be perhaps the cause of this sudden
brightening. An event colossal compared to our recent astounding success an
comet interception but rather weak effects at brightening, preceived only
marginaly from anywhere but Right There.
Jerry Flaherty
----- Original Message -----
From: "Sterling K. Webb" <sterling_k_webb at sbcglobal.net>
To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
Cc: <MexicoDoug at aol.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 8:09 PM
Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Fw: Comet 17P (Holmes) Visible Event !


> Hi,
>
> A history of Holmes at:
> http://cometography.com/pcomets/017p.html
> says it was discovered (1892) in a brilliant "naked-eye"
> outburst but then faded away. Five months later, it
> brightened again back to a lesser "naked-eye" status.
> It was observed through its 1906 perihelion, but was
> lost thereafter. It was often observed without any coma
> whatsoever. It was recovered in 1964 after Brian Marsten
> recalculated the orbit, as a coma-less condensation and
> has never shown more than a wisp of coma... until now.
>
> Hard to imagine that solar heating of volatiles at its great
> distance at irregular intervals could be responsible for
> such brightening. When it was discovered, it was excitedly
> thought to be a recovery of Comet Biela, and we all know
> what happened in Biela-ville. Exposing half the comet to
> sunlight (or a third or a quarter) might do it.
>
> [For those not up on their comet gossip, the large bright
> Comet Biela broke apart into TWO Comet Bielas, then
> eventually NO Comet Bielas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D/Biela]
>
>
> Sterling K. Webb
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Chris Peterson" <clp at alumni.caltech.edu>
> To: <meteorite-list at meteoritecentral.com>
> Sent: Wednesday, October 24, 2007 6:40 PM
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Fw: Comet 17P (Holmes) Visible Event !
>
>
> It certainly is remarkable. Fascinating to speculate on just what
> occurred to throw off what must be a vast amount of material.
>
> 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 4:10 PM
> Subject: Re: [meteorite-list] Fw: Comet 17P (Holmes) Visible Event !
>
>
>> 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
>
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Received on Wed 24 Oct 2007 09:10:57 PM PDT