Where can I see the Comet Holmes in Prince Edward Island, Canada.?

Question

I'm way out in the country and want to see the Comet Holmes, where should I look? I am on the South East tip of Prince Edward Island in Canada. Thanks for any help.

Answer 1

Evening: northeast. Morning: northwest. At its brightest it looked like an extra (slightly fuzzy) star in Perseus, but has dimmed since then. The best part of the show may be over, and you will need binoculars for the best view.

Download a finder chart from http://www.skyandtelescope.com

Answer 2

Look high in the northeast early in the evening. I saw it last night very close to the star Mirfak, the brightest star in Perseus. Perseus is to the right of Cassiopeia. Cassiopeia looks like a big M above the north star about that time of night. The comet is about half way from Cassiopeia to the Pleiades. The Pleiades is a star cluster far to the right of Cassiopeia at that time. The Pleiades look like a teeny weeny little dipper (not to be confused with the true little dipper which has the north star as the end of its handle.)

Answer 3

Prince Edward Island is a province of Canada.

Answer 4

Name: 17P Holmes
Object type:short period comet
Semimajor axis: 3.6174 AU
Eccentricity: 0.43242
Inclination: 19.113 degrees
Longitude of ascending node: 326.867 degrees
Argument of perihelion: 24.259 degrees
Time of perihelion : JD 2454225.0 (12h UT, 4 May 2007)
Perihelion distance: 2.0532 AU
Orbital period: 2513 days

Holmes was closest to Earth on November 4th, when it was 1.6147 AU from us.

Here's an ephemeris for Holmes that I generated from the above orbital elements.

Year = 2007...
DATE, distance, right ascension, declination
12nov, 1.622 AU, 3h 28m 47s, +50d 26' 35"
13nov, 1.623 AU, 3h 27m 33s, +50d 23' 50"
14nov, 1.626 AU, 3h 26m 20s, +50d 20' 42"
15nov, 1.628 AU, 3h 25m 06s, +50d 17' 13"
16nov, 1.630 AU, 3h 23m 52s, +50d 13' 23"
17nov, 1.633 AU, 3h 22m 41s, +50d 09' 13"
18nov, 1.636 AU, 3h 21m 29s, +50d 04' 42"
19nov, 1.640 AU, 3h 20m 18s, +49d 59' 51"
20nov, 1.643 AU, 3h 19m 08s, +49d 54' 40"
25nov, 1.664 AU, 3h 13m 33s, +49d 24' 15"
01dec, 1.697 AU, 3h 07m 40s, +48d 39' 03"
15dec, 1.808 AU, 2h 58m 32s, +46d 30' 05"

Year = 2008...
DATE, distance, right ascension, declination
01jan, 1.997 AU, 2h 57m 02s, +43d 44' 36"
15jan, 2.190 AU, 3h 02m 54s, +41d 45' 12"
01feb, 2.455 AU, 3h 16m 41s, +39d 52' 28"
15feb, 2.690 AU, 3h 32m 04s, +38d 45' 11"
01mar, 2.948 AU, 3h 51m 28s, +37d 53' 12"
15mar, 3.188 AU, 4h 11m 30s, +37d 17' 37"

For reference, the position of Alpha Persei, or Mirfak, is
RA = 3h 24m, dec = +49d 52'

Answer 5

Drive out to anywhere that is free of light. You can see it with just a pair of binoculars.

Answer 6

If you want to see it now then look north, its in Perseus