Comet Outburst Spawns Mini-Comets

[mickw]

A comet recently spewed out a cluster of mini comets in a huge outburst that was the largest ever witnessed by astronomers.

A team of researchers began observing the comet 17P/Holmes in October 2007, after it was reported that the object, about 2.2 miles wide (3.6 km wide), had brightened by a million times in less than a day.

UCLA researcher Rachel Stevenson and colleagues noted multiple fragments flying rapidly away from the comet's nucleus. They continued observing for several weeks after the outburst using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii and watched as the dust cloud ejected by the comet grew to be larger than the sun.

More:   http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/090915-mini-comets.html

[MarkS]

Interesting.

I wonder if the individual jets in this digitally enhanced image of mine are due to those fragments?



If I go back to my original data and apply a Laplacian filter instead of a rotational one I might be able to tease out better detail.

(From the 0.3 meter, Shelley back garden telescope!)

Mark

[Ian]

and applying the "Unbelieveable luck of the Shelley" filter too... 

[MarkS]

and applying the "Unbelieveable luck of the Shelley" filter too... 

Indeed - I was fortunate enough to buy the C11 just one week before the Holmes outburst.

Mark

[Ian]

see, I knew it

[mickw]

I don't beleive it ...............................

"Shakes head in disbelief"   

[Tony G]

'I just happened to have my camera with me (with my new C11), when...................' 

Tony G

Deja Vu    

Tony G

[Mac]

Considering the amount of lady luck you seem to have acquired

could you pick the numbers for fridays euro lottery please.

Cheers.