Comet Holmes is suddenly news (after 2 weeks)
Published on Nov 6, 2007 at 12:27 am.
1 Comment.
Filed under skywatching.
Wow. Back on October 24, almost two weeks ago, I heard about the sudden outburst of Comet 17P/Holmes. I wrote about it hours after observing it. There was quite a bit of news about the comet around the internet. Just over a week ago, I posted a photograph of the constellation Perseus, with the comet marked. This has turned out to be one of the brightest comets in a long time, second only to Comet McNaught early in the year. Comet Holmes was clearly visible to the naked eye. Now, as it expands, it is getting harder to see, as I explained recently. And, in all those nearly two weeks, the comet has been virtually ignored by the news media. I saw a brief mention in USA Today, but that was all until Sunday when an amateur astronomer associated with a planetarium in the area wrote about it in the monthly column for the local paper. Then, I see this today. Yeah, they are sure on top of things.
So, what gives? Back a few years ago, reporters used to try to keep up with the news. They would have beats. You’d have a science reporter, or better yet several science reporters. They’d ask around for what is news. Now, it seems that they just wait until they hear of something from some other medium (obviously not the astronomy blogs, Sky and Telescope or Space.com, though, since those outlets have been going on about the comet for some time). But, I know for a fact that some of them have been told about the comet. Rather than reporting on it, though, they waited until someone else reported on the comet.
Then, of course, they report on it like it is breaking news, or something. Come on folks. The comet has been visible to the naked eye for two weeks. That’s not breaking news. In fact, it seems that science news seldom gets reported unless it is something that is known well ahead of time that a news story is about to come out. A lot of people would have loved to see the comet at its best, and as it was developing, rather than on the down side. Yes, I know that for astronomers, the comet just gets more interesting, but that is because we have the equipment to study it. For most people, they are looking with just their eyes, and the comet was clearest a week ago (in my opinion), at least in the light polluted city skies.
At the top of this post, you’ll find a wonderful image of Comet Holmes that I found over at the Astronomy Picture of the Day. It was taken by Vicent Peris and Jose Luis Lamadrid in Spain. It clearly shows the tail starting for form from the comet. The faint blue glow is the gas tail of the comet. If the tail persists, then that would suggest that the nucleus of the comet is continuing to vent gasses after the explosive event of October 24. The coma of the comet itself is starting to show a slight greenish tint. The last distinctly green comet that I recall was Comet Macholz (C/ 2004 Q2). A green color in the coma of a comet comes from cyanogen gas (CN) and diatomic carbon (C2), both of which fluoresce green. This is not unexpected for a sudden release of material like happened with Comet Holmes.
Well, at least the comet has finally gotten the news attention that it deserved. However, unlike many people, including the author of the news story that I saw, I don’t expect the comet to remain as easy to see as it has been until now. For one thing, the material is already spreading out, and that makes the comet tougher to see from the city, as I explained in my posting two days ago about integrated magnitudes. Of course, I could easily be surprised. Comets tend to do unexpected things, so this one might surprise me and stay this bright and easy to see for months (but I doubt it). That does not appear to be what happened in 1892 when the comet was first discovered. So, let’s enjoy this one while we have the chance.
-Astroprof
Mike Huston on November 21, 2007 at 10:14 pm: 1
I’m suprised it’s not bigger news… This has to trump whatever Britney may have done today… I do feel weird that there is an object that large in our solar system… Bizarre.