New Naked Eye Comet - 17/P Holmes

Isn't astronomy just a fantastic hobby! You just never know what the universe will throw at you!

In most cases I would prefer to know!

Seanie Morris wrote:

Isn't astronomy just a fantastic hobby! You just never know what the universe will throw at you!

Just like the wife :lol:

wow, this thing has become very bright, nice images lads BTW, tonight's the night to catch it as the weather is turning sour tomorrow.

Just had a look at it for a second night, first in the binoculars and it is much bigger tonight and possibly a little brighter than last night. In the telescope it is simply stunning. Big circular coma, a point like nucleus and a quadrant of the coma showing a fan like mini tail to the west completely contained within the coma.
Gotta go and look again.......

Hi everybody, it's not often you get a chance to make a first post at a time like this.
The comet has definitely brightened slightly, although it is difficult to make an accurate estimate of magnitude in such a bright moon. It is definitely brighter than Delta Persei. My best guess would be mag 2.5. Appearance is similar to last night, the nucleus appears to be more compact, but the coma is of a similar size, and overall, the yellow colour is paler. The comet has moved slightly in the direction of Mirfak, apparently, it is predicted to pass quite near Mirfak in a few days, hopefully it will remain visible until then.
I hope the skies stay clear for you all.

Just had a look at it for a second night, first in the binoculars and it is much bigger tonight and possibly a little brighter than last night. In the telescope it is simply stunning. Big circular coma, a point like nucleus and a quadrant of the coma showing a fan like mini tail to the west completely contained within the coma.
Gotta go and look again.......

That's exactly how I see it too Michael.

I've never seen the likes of this before...simply amazing!
Make sure you see this in a telescope!