Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is
featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2007 December 5

Comet Holmes Over Hungary

Credit & Copyright: Tamas Ladanyi
Explanation: Comet Holmes refuses to fade. The unusual comet that surprisingly brightened
nearly a million-fold in late October continues to remain visible to the unaided eye from dark
locations. Night to night, Comet 17P/Holmes is slowly gliding through the constellation
Perseus, remaining visible to northern observers during much of the night right from sunset.
Pictured above, Comet Holmes was captured from Hungary last week. The remarkable
snowball continues to retain a huge coma, but now shows very little of a tail. To the far right is
the open cluster of stars NGC 1245. How much longer Comet Holmes will remain visible to the
unaided eye is unknown.
Tomorrow's picture: open space

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