Comet Unexpectedly Brightens a Millionfold 276
swordgeek writes "Comet 17P/Holmes, a relatively obscure and (until a few days ago) dim object, has suddenly flared to be literally a million times brighter, going from magnitude 18 to 2.8. It is just outside of the constellation Perseus, which puts it high in the sky and ideal for viewing at this time of year. The comet still appears starlike even in binoculars but should grow to several arcminutes across over the next few nights. The comet is now readily visible to the naked eye. This is a completely unexpected once-in-a-lifetime event, so get out your finest optics (even if it's just your eyes) and go comet watching!"
we need a comet, a big one (Score:5, Funny)
i mean a really big bright one that eats the whole sky
we need a big bright comet because history teaches us that warring factions oftentimes stop their fighting and lay down their arms when shocked at the sight
so we need a big bright comet pronto
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Re:we need a comet, a big one (Score:4, Informative)
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But I agree about the 1986 one - I could just make it out with binoculars
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hale bopp large? bright? yoiu're joking, right? (Score:2)
or this [nasa.gov]
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Re:we need a comet, a big one (Score:5, Funny)
Well yeah, we're talking about a comet that brightens, not a president!
Comet, comet, go away, don't come back other day (Score:5, Funny)
oblig starship troopers (Score:5, Funny)
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careful (Score:2)
but you should believe in the power of a bunch of assholes bringing about a self-realizing prophecy. that armageddeon is not true, but enough assholes believing in it makes it true
so you are not safe from their thinking after all
Re:we need a comet, a big one (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:we need a comet, a big one (Score:4, Insightful)
What the night sky *really* looks like (Score:3, Funny)
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Perhaps I'll go look. (Score:3, Interesting)
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I thought Hale-Bopp [wikipedia.org] was spectacular. You could clearly see the two tails and it was close enough that scientists discovered a third cometary tail.
And to the British guy who asked: I think the constellation Perseus is the same constellation in the UK. You may be screwed if you're in Australia though. I don't think you can see Perseus from there, but I'm not sure.
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Baloney. It was beautiful in March and April 1986, by far the best comet views in my lifetime, with a bright detailed tail 8 degrees long. Hyukatake and Hale-Bopp were good, but not that good.
Let me guess, you went out to see Halley in October or November of 1985, before perihelion, long before peak, when it was in the night sky. Sorry, the views were in the spring, in the morning sky. Just like they were telling folks on the news; no one listened.
Comet McNaught 2006 p1 (Score:3, Informative)
Of course, naked eye comets always get a brief mention in the news, even when dim, but this one caught attention because of the dramatic increase in brightness. It's all the more surprising when you consider that this is a short period comet in a relatively circular orbit. It make
Why? (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Why? (Score:5, Informative)
Well, the only star it's flying near is the big yellow one you see in the daytime. I haven't seen anything about the reason it got brighter, but my guess would be it has an icy core that has been gradually heating internally as it orbited closer to the sun, until suddenly it burst out as steam. If that's the case, maybe it'll get brighter as it gets closer and warmer... or maybe the lid's been taken off the pot and after a day of spewing a ton of stored-up H2O now it'll settle down and get dimmer.
(Like a balloon when something bad happens!)
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However, there may have been an unusually large pocket of vapor that form some reason burst out at this point (out-gassing), or it might have been hit by a smaller object.
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Comets appear bright because they start to evaporate as they approach the sun, and the sun illuminates the evaporating gas and dust.
The best guess as to why this one has suddenly brightened so much is that it has either broken apart or experienced a sudden outgassing for some other reason.
BTW, the comets we see are gravitationally bound to o
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Thermal pulse (Score:5, Informative)
Comet crusts, the dark stuff that is left over after the ice sublimates, are thought to conduct heat slowly. One theory on why we see outbursts as comets move away from the Sun, as this one is doing, is that the warming pulse from the closest approach takes time to sink down to a reservior of carbon monoxide gas which then sublimate internally and blows off fairly large chunks of the comet. Another theory is that the same thermal pulse reaches a reservior of amorphous water ice, which is more common in space than crystalline ice and thus might be present in comets since their formation. When amorphous ice is warmed, it will become crystalline and release energy because the ordered state of crystaline ice is a lower energy state. This can lead to a chain reaction of further crystallization and energy release that could lead to enough warming to cause sublimation in the interior and then do the same kind of thing as in the carbon monoxide scenario.
--
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Global warming.
Earth to comet: Y R U so late? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Earth to comet: Y R U so late? (Score:5, Funny)
Magic Comet Ride
(Parody of Magic Carpet Ride by Steppenwolf)
I like to dream
Yes, yes
About flying around in a space machine
When a big blue ball appears in the night
Our leader says that the time is right
Hale Bopp draws near
Clean the house and pack that gear
Well, UFO is right behind
Why don't you come with me, boys and girls
On a magic comet ride
Well, UFO's got a extra seat
Why don't you take a trek with me?
Beam us up, we'll visit ET
Grab a ride, girl
Say good bye, world
Let Hale Bopp take you away
Last night I packed a travel sack
And said goodbye on video tape
Before the ship could come for me
Some witch doctor had to take my nuts away
I donned a gown
Brand new shoes from Niketown
Well, you won't know if you stay behind
Why don't you come with me, cyber geek
On a magic comet ride
We'll follow Doe and you will see
Why don't you go to sleep with me?
This plastic bag will set you free
Say goodbye, world
Log your last URL
Let the ship take you away
Well, UFO is right behind
Why don't you come with me, boys and girls
On a magic comet ride
Well, UFO's got an extra seat
Why don't you take a trek with me?
Beam us up, we'll visit ET (Marcus Tee)
Odd behavior (Score:5, Interesting)
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(In less paranoid mode, we've had a good long period of settled weather with nice clear skies. As soon as something new and interesting shows up in the sky? A week's unsettled cloudy weather is forecast! Typical.)
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Re:Odd behavior (Score:5, Informative)
-If a comet is heading directly for us, don't worry. If it is heading where we will be by the time it gets there, on the other hand...
-The comet tail is almost not related to its trajectory, but mostly to the direction of the solar wind hitting it, you can approximately draw a line Sun->comet->tail.
So odds are that if we ever have to collide with a comet, we will most likely be idealy placed to see its tail just before the collision.
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According to SpaceWeather.com [spaceweather.com], not only did the comet brighten unexpectedly, it "... has no tail, [and] a remarkable golden color ...". Unless the geometry of the sun-earth-comet trio is such that the tail is pointing directly away from the earth, you'd think there'd be a massive tail given the million-fold increase in brightness.
More proof that its no comet, but a spaceship firing retro rockets!
Tm
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That's because it's obscured. It's coming right for us!
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WARNING (Score:5, Funny)
WARNING
Do not look into the comet with your remaining eye.
Re:WARNING (Score:4, Funny)
The instructions started out with "First, take off the blade of the knife prior to practicing, or you will cut yourself". Being young and cocky, he ignored it and started playing with it. After cutting his hand rather badly, he decided to consult the book again.
The next line read "Now that you have bandaged your hand, tape off the knife edge like the previous instructions said".
It's The COMET EMPIRE!!! (Score:5, Funny)
Weather or not. (Score:2)
It's raining and overcast here, you insensitive clod!
(and always is for any significant astronomical phenomenon)
Magnitude scale incorrect on Wikipedia? (Score:2)
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Re:Magnitude scale incorrect on Wikipedia? (Score:5, Informative)
The numbers are funny (rather than -1, 0, 1, 2) because they're giving you sample objects so you can get an idea about the range of the scale.
Hope that helped!
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Er, where? (Score:4, Insightful)
On what part of the planet? Northern hemosphere or southern? The Americas or Asia? What time of night (or day)?
In 1974, the American media were excitedly predicting a very bright comet named Kahoutek, and then when it appeared wrote how dissapointing the show was, that it wasn't even visible.
I was in Thailand that year, Kahoutek drowned out all the stars in half the sky there.
Some of you folks need to learn that the internet is a global phenomena and not restricted to your own country. Is this thing visible in my country (US)? What part of the sky, and what time? If I can see it, people in Australia can't.
-mcgrew
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On the other hand if you don't know where Perseus is, no amount of additional information will help you find the comet.
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When? (Score:2)
Depending on latitude, its path through the sky may be entirely below the horizon and thus invisible. For example, the Little Dipper "rises", "sets", and "reaches zen
Ill watch (Score:2)
It is always fun to check out new objects that show up in the sky.
Unexpected Sudden Brightening? (Score:5, Funny)
You think that's unexpected?
Wait until it suddenly changes direction!
Now thatwill be unexpected!
Re:Unexpected Sudden Brightening? (Score:5, Funny)
Wait until it suddenly changes direction!
Oh yeah? You think that's unexpected?
Wait until it starts an Inquisition!
Now that will be unexpected!
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I got a photo of it through my telescope (Score:5, Interesting)
Wow! A once in a lifetime event! (Score:4, Funny)
Never fails.
Another Explanation? (Score:2)
Great scale (Score:3, Funny)
Dr Evil: ... and so we will demand... one million dollars! (*laughs evilly*)
Henchman: Um, well, it turns out that a million dollars isn't so much money any more.
Dr Evil: Hmm. In that case... we will demand... fifty cents!!!
All Hail! (Score:2)
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No, it's probably just Dahak again (Score:2)
Another explanation (Score:2)
has suddenly flared to be literally a million times brighter,
It's the Silver Surfer! Aaaaah, we're all gonna die when the giant cloud-thing comes and eats our planet.
Last call.
It's Obvious (Score:3, Funny)
Our new Overlords (Score:5, Funny)
A "Millionfold" is not the same as a Million times (Score:5, Funny)
Each "fold" means a doubling, or 2 to the n'th power. For example, three-fold is 8-times. Take a piece of paper and fold it three times- unfold it and count the number of rectangles outlined by the creases. This is where the expression actually came from...
People incorrectly use the "fold" term because they think it sounds more intelligent, but they demonstrate their ignorance by misusing it.
A brighting of 2 to the millionth power would be so massive that we and our entire solar system would be almost instantly vaporized and blown away by the photons striking us.
ron
Re:A "Millionfold" is not the same as a Million ti (Score:5, Informative)
Incidentally, the term has been used both ways, and has etymologically distinct roots, so millionfold meaning 'a million times' is valid.
I can't link directly to it, at the sixth entry (-fold) at Miriam Webster's [m-w.com].
Nonetheless, it wasn't my word. Neither was the claim that the comet is 'starlike in binoculars.'
kdawson, quit putting words in my mouth! (Score:5, Informative)
I write up what I consider to be an interesting story for
Then I read what I supposedly wrote, and find that words have been put in my mouth. Specifically:
"The comet still appears starlike even in binoculars but should grow to several arcminutes across over the next few nights. "
I did NOT write that. I didn't suggest it. The comet does NOT appear starlike in binoculars at all--it's quite a clear extended disk. ONE person quoted in Sky & Telescope believes that it will expand to several arcminutes in size, but that's strictly conjecture.
Furthermore, I didn't use the word "millionfold" in my subject line. That was kdawson again.
Doesn't matter (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Doesn't matter (Score:5, Informative)
But given that the UK and US are on the same hemisphere, that shouldn't be a problem, and if it is... Train + Rome...
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Yes, but the sky will be in a different place above you depending on latitude.
Re:Doesn't matter (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, but the sky will be in a different place above you depending on latitude.
Re:UK? (Score:4, Funny)
Oh, right, UK.
Never.
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I'm bemused by the CIA World Factbook's statement on the UK page that says, "more than one-half of the days are overcast". Is this unusual in the rest of the world?
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It varies. Is it unusual for Seattle or Vancouver, BC? No. In Vancouver it actually rains on more than one-half of the days every year. Is it unusual for the southwestern part of the US? Probably. I have never seen so much unclouded sky and bright sunlight as I did in southern California and Arizona. I assume Mexico is the same way, since it's even closer to the equator.
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You forget the heat waves (Score:2)
That instantly parch a country that has been soaking the rest of the year, apparently not enough rain falls in the UK to fill the reservoirs enough for those short periods of dryness.
It is kinda amazing this country once ruled the world. Says a lot about the world really.
Re:UK? (Score:5, Informative)
Looking at the last link in the summary I think we ought to be able to see it
Look for Cassiopeia ( a big and fairly obvious W or M in the sky) and track your eyes downward from it. It's going to be just down to the left of the bright star Mirfak in Perseus.
I wonder what the reason for the brightening is? Maybe it hit Voyager.
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Re:UK? (Score:4, Informative)
This is not an eclipse, so you should be able to watch it from the UK, clouds permitting. If you are worried about latitude, you can check the low-cost flights to Spain and come to watch it from here over the weekend. I think you can see Perseus from the UK, anyway.
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However it should be pretty much overhead in the middle of the night in the NE sky, look for the Perseus constellation. Everyone in the northern hemisphere should be able to spot it according to TFA.
Re:UK? (Score:4, Funny)
Regardless of country - You would need to look up.
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Red Sox blowout Rockies 13 to 1 (Score:2)
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I doubt anyone will commit suicide over this comet, since there's no spaceship with it this time.
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