Comet 17P/Holmes Update

"It was nice to see the comet again," says Peter von Bagh who spotted it last night from his home in Porvoo, Finland

Breaking Earth News
Comet 17P/Holmes

The bright Moon is leaving the evening sky and Comet Holmes is emerging from the glare.

You can easily find it with binoculars even in a light-polluted urban sky.

Comet Holmes is not as bright as it was when it exploded in late October. Most people now have trouble finding it with the naked eye. A quick sweep through Perseus with a pair of binoculars, however, will pinpoint the comet while the smallest of telescopes reveals it to be a truly impressive object.

Comet Holmes now occupies about 10 times the volume of the Sun and it is developing a hint of a blue-green tail. A similar tail was observed in early November, but it broke off during an apparent magnetic storm. Now the tail is growing back.