holmcomp

The bizarrely wonderful Comet Holmes as imaged by Kevin Wildgoose, Alan Herbert, Ray Hollister, Douglas Renton Cooper and Bill Pritchard.

In late October 2007 the normally dim Comet Holmes underwent a massive outbiurst akin to that it experienced in the Victorian era. It brightened from mag 14 to mag 2.8 in just a few hours as it shrugged of a shell of dust that expanded - initially brightening and then dimming as the material spread out to encompass an angle nearly a degree across in early 2008. The core was highly active spewing streamers that were easily revealed with image processing and the object was still visible to the naked eye in February 2008.

As might be expected, it was imaged by a number of members with a composite image is presented here containing images by Kev Wildgoose, Roy Hollister, Doug Renton-Cooper, Bill Pritchard, Alan Herbert and Nigel Sheridan - in no particular order. A variety of equipment was used including CCDs, webcams and DSLRS. It was a fantastic sight and will remain long in the memory of all who saw it in the first few days.