Comet Holmes

I made a post about his comet a few weeks ago. Here are a few shots I've taken.

D200, 80-200mm f2.8 @ 200mm on November 5th. The comet is now near the bright star in the top, center of the last photo.

The first shot was taken at ISO 200, f4 for 10 seconds.

Second shot was taken at ISO 400, f4 for 5 seconds.

Third shot was taken at ISO 800, f4 for 5 seconds.

Here's a link for anyone interested in finding, and better yet photographing, Comet Holmes:

http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/11372856.html

Comet Holmes doesn't have much of a tail because it is basically heading toward the earth. Hence, it is a fuzz ball in the sky.

I don't have the patience or the cahonies to go out on a cold night but glad you do.
Thanks for sharing them!

Nice shots Speed, I guess you started a night light thread.

Awesome shots Speed. I saw a graphic the other day showing that the cloud is now bigger than our sun. Pretty cool. Thanks for sharing!!

"...or the cahonies to go out on a cold night but glad you do.
Thanks for sharing them!"

No problem. Glad to share.

Now if I had some great scenery (like Rickster) then I could give you something spectacular.

That's a hint Rick!

;-)

Thanks for the comments!

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Originally Posted by Speed

80-200mm f2.8 @ 200mm.....Comet Holmes doesn't have much of a tail because it is basically heading toward the earth. Hence, it is a fuzz ball in the sky.

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So that's why I haven't seen it. Heard about it and looked a couple of times but now we're stuck with grey skies until, oh, about June.

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Originally Posted by MJS

I guess you started a night light thread.

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I don't know about the night light thread, but I'm glad to share.

Comet Holmes is an easy target for photographers. An lens from 50mm on up should do the job. The moon is washing out the sky right now, but in another week or so, we'll dark skies again.

Thanks for the comments Michael.

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Originally Posted by I_Fly

I saw a graphic the other day showing that the cloud is now bigger than our sun. Pretty cool. Thanks for sharing!!

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I don't know about awesome, but I'd like to think they are decent shots.

Apparently Comet Holmes expelled a bunch of dust, and that is what caused it to brighten a million times to naked eye visibility. (It was actually dimmer than Pluto until it's outburst.) As the dust cloud expands, it remains the same brightness, but it is more diffused, being spread out across space. And it is phenomenal how much the dust cloud has already spread out. Keep checking with SkyandTelescope for updates.

Update from Sky and Telescope:November 18th: No question about it, the comet has lost a lot of its surface brightness in the last few days as it continues to enlarge. In addition it's passing very close to 2nd-magnitude Alpha Persei this week, and the star is bright enough to interfere with the big puffball's visibility. Nor does the increasing moonlight help.

So it looks like it is starting to fade...

Thank you for your kind words my friend.

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Originally Posted by another view

Heard about it and looked a couple of times but now we're stuck with grey skies until, oh, about June.

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Actually, in a week or so, the moon will be past full, and hence rising later, so on a clear night (that's the trick) you can find Comet Holmes quite easily. Use the finder chart in the link I posted. It's basically half-way between the Pleiades and Polaris (the north star).

In the meantime, Comet Holmes will be in the sky around Perseus for the next few months. So if it doesn't fade too much, we might be able see it in the spring.