Obviously I haven't been posting much here recently. But I've been posting a lot over at my work blog about my trip to China Oct. 9-20. Feel free to check it out.
If you can see the constellation Perseus in your night sky, be sure to look for Comet Holmes. It is easily visible with the naked eye. I tried to take a photo to put on the blog, but it just comes out black. I don't yet have a digital camera (or maybe the skills) capable of taking astro photos as good as the ones I used to take with my 35mm camera.
Comet Holmes is a known comet with a period of 6.9 years that is not normally visible to the naked eye. But in late October it unexpectedly became about a million times brighter than usual. You can easily see it with the naked eye, even with considerable light pollution, if you know where to look.
Comet Holmes doesn't have a tail at present. It's just a fuzzy blob. Obviously not a star. Here are some links to online information with pictures and charts to help you find it in the night sky, regardless of where you are in the world.
Sky and Telescope magazine article #1
Sky and Telescope magazine article #2
Wikipedia entry
It's cool! Be sure to check it out.
2 comments:
Try upping the contrast on the digital camera. Not sure if it will work but its worth a try.
-B
Thanks for the suggestion, Brian. I don't find a setting on the camera for contrast. But I did try changing the ISO speed, and that helped a lot. I'll post a picture shortly.
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