Comet 17P/Holmes
For a while it looked like the cards were stacked against me due to light pollution.Between the street lights and the almost obnoxiously bright full moon I was still able to see the comet with the naked eye.Comet 17P/Holmes has suddenly become the talk of the astronomy community,when within the last 48hours it went from a +17mag object to a +2.6mag object.Authorities are not not quite sure what has caused this sudden burst of energy.Their have been speculations that the sudden out-gassing may be due to a possible core break up or perhaps a collision with a unseen object.This comet is quite small making it tough to see any details.I am sure more details will emerge as time goes on.So if you have the clear skies and want to view this amazing object.Look towards the Northeast after sundown.It is located in the Perseus constellation near the bright star Mirfak.
Right ascension: 3h 52m 34.2s
Declination: +50 14′ 39″
Below is a image that I took at 9:30pm.I had to move the scope to a different location than normal due to a cropping of tree’s.It is a 2 second exposure and a ISO or 200.It was taken with a Pentax ist DS DSLR.Image was enhanced and cropped using PS Elements.
Image Credit: Andrew
Above the clouds 
October 26, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Lucky! I was able to see it with binoculars, but clouds covered everything before I could get the scope out. Still cloudy this morning when I got up so maybe tonight?
October 26, 2007 at 4:48 pm
Unless it fades as quick as it flared,you should have time.If it stays at it’s apparent mag then it should be visible for a while.It was kind of frustrating at first because,I couldn’t find it with the spotting scope.It took perhaps a half hour of swearing under my breath before I finally got it centered in the eye piece.The comet is really small but,amazingly bright!.
Good luck!!!
October 26, 2007 at 5:12 pm
Cloudy over here 😦
Great picture
Mark
October 26, 2007 at 5:23 pm
I was in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and I managed some spectacular shots. I used a 3 second exposure @ iso 100. Please take a look at my website.
http://realworldnumbers.wordpress.com/2007/10/26/hunting-for-comet-holmes-at-home/
I’ll be going out again tonight weather permitting.
October 26, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Hi Mark,
That is too bad about the clouds!.I hope it clears soon so you are able to see it.
Heh,and I thought I was the only one that was plagued by clouds everytime a their was celestial event!.
October 27, 2007 at 10:40 pm
Nice image, Andrew. Easy to see the bright nucleus drooping off center from the coma. Will you be getting out again tonight? It’s looking like it’s clearing up here.
~ peter
October 27, 2007 at 11:06 pm
Hi Peter,
It hasn’t cleared up here yet although,I do see some breaks in clouds to the west.The wind has begun to pickup a bit as well.I may try to get the scope out but,with the recent rain I am guessing the skies are going to be pretty turbulant.If the clear skies hold out for tomorrow night I may try then.The comet is simply amazing isn’t it?.I noticed that the comet is moving away from the halo that was created for whatever reason.My guess is that it struck a asteroid.I’m not sure but,I thought that I read that it was located(comet) between Mars and Jupiter which would put it in a sortof shooting gallery.Over at Spaceweather.com a gif image was submitted that showed it to be moving away from the halo.Are getting your scope out tonight?.
Andrew