Hi there,
My idea is to create posts that gather images of specific objects - much like the Shoot the Moon thread. I'm starting with comets, and here's the two I've got (not exactly recent, but just to get the thing going).
I believe most people would like to compare results on the same (or similar) targets, and I figured this could be a nice way of avoiding thread-highjacking.
mods: if this breaks any rule I'm ignoring, please instruct and I shall make the necessary modifications.
So here goes -
1. Comet 17P - Holmes
Discovery date: November 6, 1892
Epoch: October 27, 2007 (JD 2454400.5)
Aphelion distance: 5.183610 AU
Perihelion distance: 2.053218 AU (about 16 light minutes 
Semi-major axis: 3.618414 AU
Eccentricity: 0.432564
Orbital period: 6.882994 a
Inclination: 19.1126°
Last perihelion: May 4, 2007
Next perihelion: March 22, 2014
This otherwise neglected comet had an explosive perihelion in 2007 when it shot up to about mag 2. It was the highlight of the night for weeks (in Perseus), easily visible with binoculars and showed a nice circular (well..spherical, really) gaseous "atmosphere" the diameter of which increased abruptly over time. It was called the "jellyfish comet" because of her tail - not visible in my photos but Internet will show you plenty.
my photos show you the relative size diference as compared to the Moon, as well as some PS fun that shows the inner structure.
I also have N3 - Lulin, I'll post it after you guys throw one or two in here.
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