Space Weather News for Nov. 19, 2007
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Comet 17P/Holmes is swallowing a star! Not really, but it looks that way. Tonight, the exploding comet is passing directly in front of Mirfak, the brightest star of the constellation Perseus. Astronomers liken the view through a backyard telescope to a giant space-faring jellyfish gobbling a phosphorescent treat. Although Comet Holmes is now fading to the limits of naked-eye visibility, the star-comet duo is still easy to find in the northern sky after sunset. Visit http://spaceweather.com for a sky map and photos.
GIANT COMET: University of Hawaii astronomers have measured the diameter of Comet 17P/Holmes: 1.4 million kilometers. This makes the exploding comet bigger than the sun and now the largest object in the solar system. Not surprisingly, the comet is visible to the naked eye; with only a backyard telescope you can watch its gigantic debris cloud expand from night to night. Nov. 19th is an especially good night to look: Comet Holmes will glide by Mirfak, the brightest star in the constellation Perseus, and appear to swallow it. Visit http://spaceweather.com for a sky map and images.
(Note: The sun remains by far the most massive object in the solar system. Comet 17P/Holmes' diaphanous atmosphere of dust and gas, which is what the astronomers measured, contains less mass than a typical asteroid. In spite of its great size, Comet Holmes is a lightweight that won't be deflecting the orbits of planets or causing any other such catastrophes.)
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