Comet Holmes

Comet Holmes continues to amaze & puzzle everyone! It is still almost the second brightest object in Perseus, after Alpha (Mirfak); the comet lies closely to the East of Mirfak. It's still well above 3rd magnitude, and the 'fuzziness' is now apparent to the unaided eye. In binoculars you can see the bright 'nucleus' offset from the centre of the coma, and a telescope reveals more detail in the coma itself. The actual size of the coma is now bigger than the planet Jupiter! There is still no sign of a tail, which is not surprising, as if there is one, it would be pointing almost directly away from us. Charts available nightly on www.heavens-above.com, or www.spaceweather.com. See photos on www.irishastro.org.