[AZ-Observing] Re: P/Holmes tonight (Oct 26.1 UT)

Over the course of the last 24 hours, this comet sure has expanded. I  
put my astrometric eyepiece to use on it again and I measured the  
central condensation at about 35 arc seconds, the bright coma at 2.5  
arc minutes, and the faint outer halo in the ballpark of 6 arc  
minutes. The color was more subtle than yesterday and had an ivory  
appearance. I'm inclined to agree with the description of the comet  
looking like a softly lit pearl. Very beautiful. The central  
condensation flows off center at a PA of about 220 degrees and has a  
much softer transition than it appeared to have yesterday. The  
northeastern tip of this condensation surrounds a stellar pseudo- 
nucleus. The bright coma appears to have developed a subtle annular  
structure. The southwest half is brighter and the ring-like edge is  
more apparent along the northeast side. While looking for any  
consistent irregularity in the faint outer halo, I thought I still  
detected a subtly brighter area along the southwest portion that  
corresponded to the position of the central condensation. The full  
moon really makes it tough to analyze this faint detail though.

With the aid of just my stargazing glasses, I think that it appears  
just the tiniest bit softer than a proper star of similar magnitude.  
Sketches and the full report can be found here:

http://www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus/archives/000741.html

I'd like to say I'm going to give it another extended look tomorrow  
night, but I think I may succumb to an involuntary sleep-deprivation  
coma by then. We'll see...

Jeremy
http://beltofvenus.perezmedia.net

On Oct 25, 2007, at 8:38 PM, Jimmy Ray wrote:

> Hi Fran,
>
> Good to hear from you. Sounds like the ETX90 has been tamed. As for  
> the
> comet, I'm finding it quite the Photogenic little object....  
> (Having lotsa
> fun here)
>
> Jimmy Ray
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Fran" <mcqz@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Thursday, October 25, 2007 20:14
> Subject: [AZ-Observing] Re: P/Holmes tonight (Oct 26.1 UT)
>
>
> Kewl!!  I was able to show a couple of friends after our weekly  
> double-date
> tonight. We walked home and I was able to point it out with a  
> strategically
> planned green laser pointer.  After we got home I set up my ETX90  
> in the
> front yard and got a great view of the lovable fuzz-ball which I  
> shared with
> a my bride and a few passers-by.  I'm jazzed.
> Fran
> Winslow, AZ
>
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