Comments on: Comet Holmes - Star Maps - March 2008 http://howesound.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/comet-holmes-star-maps-march-2008/ Explorations in this amazing landscape Sun, 27 Jul 2008 04:20:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU By: Robert http://howesound.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/comet-holmes-star-maps-march-2008/#comment-3417 Robert Wed, 14 May 2008 15:25:40 +0000 http://howesound.wordpress.com/?p=282#comment-3417 @jade and kelly, those were certainly interesting observations. If you have pictures, please post them at a site such as Flickr or webshots and then reply here with the url of the images so we can see them. I can turn urls into active links. I don't know what caused the sighting at 6:45. My best guess for the object you saw at 11:45 PM was Jupiter. I've sent you a small map of the eastern sky as seen from near you and it shows the position of Jupiter among the stars. It will still be there tonight, and it will be easy to spot. Let us know here if that is the object. @jade and kelly, those were certainly interesting observations. If you have pictures, please post them at a site such as Flickr or webshots and then reply here with the url of the images so we can see them. I can turn urls into active links. I don’t know what caused the sighting at 6:45. My best guess for the object you saw at 11:45 PM was Jupiter. I’ve sent you a small map of the eastern sky as seen from near you and it shows the position of Jupiter among the stars. It will still be there tonight, and it will be easy to spot. Let us know here if that is the object.

]]> By: JAde and kelly http://howesound.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/comet-holmes-star-maps-march-2008/#comment-3416 JAde and kelly Wed, 14 May 2008 09:09:57 +0000 http://howesound.wordpress.com/?p=282#comment-3416 hello.. this is jade and kelly here.. we have just witnessed something that we are unsure of, something were hoping you could tell us about... about 6:45 pm est victoria australia, we were looking at the stars and noticed one particular star like object which was considerably larger and brighter than any other star in the sky... it started moving very quickly across the sky.. it was clearly not a plane.. and it definitely wasnt an average star either... it slowly started to fade and disappear..... This was actually our second sighting... the night before that it was about 11:45 pm est. and we were outside looking at the stars. when we noticed a very bright star nearly the size of a street light. we took photos and in two different photos one showed that it was green and the other showed it was red. We noticed wen we were looking closely that is was flashing a little bit red at the bottom and green around the top. We went in side.. and at 12:30 pm est. we went back out and it had moved completely. although it wasnt moving when we were looking at it.. did u noticw this? or has anybody mentioned it to you? do u no wat it could be??? we have photos so if u have msn or an email we can send tghem to u .. and maybe u can tell us what u think it is??:) thankkkksss:) hello.. this is jade and kelly here.. we have just witnessed something that we are unsure of, something were hoping you could tell us about…

about 6:45 pm est victoria australia, we were looking at the stars
and noticed one particular star like object which was considerably larger and brighter than any other star in the sky… it started moving very quickly across the sky.. it was clearly not a plane.. and it definitely wasnt an average star either… it slowly started to fade and disappear…..

This was actually our second sighting… the night before that it was about 11:45 pm est. and we were outside looking at the stars. when we noticed a very bright star nearly the size of a street light. we took photos and in two different photos one showed that it was green and the other showed it was red. We noticed wen we were looking closely that is was flashing a little bit red at the bottom and green around the top. We went in side.. and at 12:30 pm est. we went back out and it had moved completely. although it wasnt moving when we were looking at it..

did u noticw this? or has anybody mentioned it to you?
do u no wat it could be??? we have photos so if u have msn or an email we can send tghem to u .. and maybe u can tell us what u think it is?? :) thankkkksss :)

]]> By: Robert http://howesound.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/comet-holmes-star-maps-march-2008/#comment-3400 Robert Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:58:27 +0000 http://howesound.wordpress.com/?p=282#comment-3400 ronnie, I doubt you were 'seeing things.' But, I don't know what you saw. Comets that are visible to the unaided eye are very unusual, so I was looking for some other explanation. Without much more detail about your observation, I cannot identify the object. If it is a Messier object, it will still be there on the next clear dark night. If it was something else, I'd suspect that it was an event in the Earth's atmosphere. ronnie, I doubt you were ’seeing things.’ But, I don’t know what you saw. Comets that are visible to the unaided eye are very unusual, so I was looking for some other explanation. Without much more detail about your observation, I cannot identify the object. If it is a Messier object, it will still be there on the next clear dark night. If it was something else, I’d suspect that it was an event in the Earth’s atmosphere.

]]> By: ronnie http://howesound.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/comet-holmes-star-maps-march-2008/#comment-3399 ronnie Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:59:47 +0000 http://howesound.wordpress.com/?p=282#comment-3399 The only reason I thought it was a comet was the presence of a tail. I would not have noticed otherwise. Is there an explanation for this or was I just seeing things? The only reason I thought it was a comet was the presence of a tail. I would not have noticed otherwise. Is there an explanation for this or was I just seeing things?

]]> By: Robert http://howesound.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/comet-holmes-star-maps-march-2008/#comment-3398 Robert Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:46:47 +0000 http://howesound.wordpress.com/?p=282#comment-3398 Ronnie, your description seems to describe one of many objects in the night sky that are neither stars or planets. To the unaided eye, or in a small telescope they look like faint, small, misty patches of light. The light is produced by one of a number of astronomical objects: galaxies, nebulae (glowing interstellar gas), or clusters of stars. The astronomer, Charles Messier (1730 to 1817), was also interested in finding comets, and he kept observing these objects only to realize they were not comets. So he made a catalog of all of them that he could find so that whenever he thought he was observing a comet he would check his catalog. Today Messier is more famous for his catalog than his comet-hunting. In the map above the little star cluster that is marked by the name, "Pleiades," and also identified by the number in his catalog, "M45." The difference between observing a comet and a Messier object is that the Messier object will always be in the same spot among the stars. The comet is moving in the solar system, so its position will change from night to night. Most of these objects can be seen only with a telescope, but there are several that can be spotted with the unaided eye. Ronnie, your description seems to describe one of many objects in the night sky that are neither stars or planets. To the unaided eye, or in a small telescope they look like faint, small, misty patches of light. The light is produced by one of a number of astronomical objects: galaxies, nebulae (glowing interstellar gas), or clusters of stars. The astronomer, Charles Messier (1730 to 1817), was also interested in finding comets, and he kept observing these objects only to realize they were not comets. So he made a catalog of all of them that he could find so that whenever he thought he was observing a comet he would check his catalog. Today Messier is more famous for his catalog than his comet-hunting. In the map above the little star cluster that is marked by the name, “Pleiades,” and also identified by the number in his catalog, “M45.” The difference between observing a comet and a Messier object is that the Messier object will always be in the same spot among the stars. The comet is moving in the solar system, so its position will change from night to night. Most of these objects can be seen only with a telescope, but there are several that can be spotted with the unaided eye.

]]> By: ronnie http://howesound.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/comet-holmes-star-maps-march-2008/#comment-3397 ronnie Wed, 02 Apr 2008 08:10:54 +0000 http://howesound.wordpress.com/?p=282#comment-3397 No idea if it's real or not but I swear I'm seeing a comet to the north of me (me being page arizona) It's barely visible to the naked eye, I just have good eyes and a lot of luck I guess. Googled it to confirm whether or not I'm just imagining things and this site was at the top of the list. Any input, confirmations, or extra info would be welcome. I'm not an astronomer, just a stargazer so please speak english. I'm quite sure it's not within the atmosphere as it seemed to move with the turn of the planet after a few minutes observation as any good celestial body should. Thanks! -Ronnie No idea if it’s real or not but I swear I’m seeing a comet to the north of me (me being page arizona) It’s barely visible to the naked eye, I just have good eyes and a lot of luck I guess. Googled it to confirm whether or not I’m just imagining things and this site was at the top of the list. Any input, confirmations, or extra info would be welcome. I’m not an astronomer, just a stargazer so please speak english. I’m quite sure it’s not within the atmosphere as it seemed to move with the turn of the planet after a few minutes observation as any good celestial body should.

Thanks!

-Ronnie

]]> By: Carla http://howesound.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/comet-holmes-star-maps-march-2008/#comment-3393 Carla Sat, 22 Mar 2008 12:44:12 +0000 http://howesound.wordpress.com/?p=282#comment-3393 correction on my last post - from my point of view, the comet moved to the RIGHT, leaving a rippled trail to its LEFT. David - thanks for posting the pictures. My camera wasn't able to produce a clear picture. So, can anyone verify what comet it was? correction on my last post -

from my point of view, the comet moved to the RIGHT, leaving a rippled trail to its LEFT.

David - thanks for posting the pictures. My camera wasn’t able to produce a clear picture.

So, can anyone verify what comet it was?

]]> By: Carla http://howesound.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/comet-holmes-star-maps-march-2008/#comment-3392 Carla Sat, 22 Mar 2008 12:26:59 +0000 http://howesound.wordpress.com/?p=282#comment-3392 David, Yes, I was at the Aria Restaurant when the comet became visible. I remember lots of folks running to the beach in amazement to view the comet. I was actually a bit nervous, hoping it didn't mean extinction (haha). It didn't seem to have lasted more than 10 minutes. I was sitting in one of the mats closer to the beach and facing the sunset. As it got dark, the comet became clearly visible. From my point of view, the comet moved to the left, leaving a rippled trail onto its right. I took a few pictures, but after downloading them onto my computer, the one taken without the use of a flash looked pitch black with a small faint white smudge-like figure. The other one with the flash just picked up the tiny particles in the air. Carla David,

Yes, I was at the Aria Restaurant when the comet became visible. I remember lots of folks running to the beach in amazement to view the comet. I was actually a bit nervous, hoping it didn’t mean extinction (haha).

It didn’t seem to have lasted more than 10 minutes. I was sitting in one of the mats closer to the beach and facing the sunset. As it got dark, the comet became clearly visible. From my point of view, the comet moved to the left, leaving a rippled trail onto its right. I took a few pictures, but after downloading them onto my computer, the one taken without the use of a flash looked pitch black with a small faint white smudge-like figure. The other one with the flash just picked up the tiny particles in the air.

Carla

]]> By: Comet-like object spotted from Boracay Island - Philippines « Salish Sea http://howesound.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/comet-holmes-star-maps-march-2008/#comment-3391 Comet-like object spotted from Boracay Island - Philippines « Salish Sea Thu, 20 Mar 2008 01:45:38 +0000 http://howesound.wordpress.com/?p=282#comment-3391 Here are pictures of the object, sent by David. They could not be posted in this comet list Here are pictures of the object, sent by David. They could not be posted in this comet list

]]> By: JMMT http://howesound.wordpress.com/2008/03/05/comet-holmes-star-maps-march-2008/#comment-3389 JMMT Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:29:50 +0000 http://howesound.wordpress.com/?p=282#comment-3389 ^^ yes yes, it moved to the right, a bit.... i do recall that... and something that i forgot to mention... me, my brother, and my mom noticed something like faint sparks/twinkling lights where the nucleus should have been... hmmm... anyway, i'm located in Los Baños, Laguna, 121°13'32"E, 14°10'44"N, altitude maybe about 40-60 m above sea level, i checked my Stellarium to determine the direction where i spotted the 'comet', around 27° N of W. Hope that helps ^^ yes yes, it moved to the right, a bit…. i do recall that… and something that i forgot to mention… me, my brother, and my mom noticed something like faint sparks/twinkling lights where the nucleus should have been… hmmm… anyway, i’m located in Los Baños, Laguna, 121°13′32″E, 14°10′44″N, altitude maybe about 40-60 m above sea level, i checked my Stellarium to determine the direction where i spotted the ‘comet’, around 27° N of W. Hope that helps

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