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Comet Holmes has increased in brightness MANY times what it was. From New England it is about 60 degrees above the western horizon. Any one else see it?

2007-12-10 11:02:59 · 6 answers · asked by Cirric 7 in Science & Mathematics Astronomy & Space

6 answers

I don't think its comet Holmes I'm not sure what it is . It seems to be fading, possibly an exploded satellite with the suns reflection lighting it

2007-12-10 11:15:51 · answer #1 · answered by oldtreeplanter 2 · 0 0

Not the comet.

These are parts of e-mails that some friends of mine sent in a group forum:
______________________________________

At first I thought it was an existing satellite that had come to grief, but in fact it's been tentatively identified as the spent upper stage of an Atlas-Centaur rocket that was making quite a show, jettisoning propellant, above Florida
______________________________________

A launch of an Atlas Centaur 5 rocket was followed by a huge fuel dump.

The results were spectacular - a hazy blob twice the size of Comet Holmes
and about magnitude -1 (!). Through binoculars, it looked a lot like a comet
with a tight nucleus (actually the rocket) and a huge, fan-tailed coma (the
dispersing rocket fuel). It was moving rapidly from Cygus into Cassiopeia
and by 7:45pm or so had just about faded away. But just a little after 7pm
EST this evening, it really produced one of the most amazing spectacles!!!

I knew that no comet was in that area so it couldn't have been an unexpected outburst, and after a few minutes, its apparent motion across the sky became obvious so it was obviously in Earth vicinity.

2007-12-10 14:17:14 · answer #2 · answered by B. 7 · 0 0

I saw it here in Louisiana it was about 5:50 pm 12/10/07
Could only see it for about 20 min. It was not Comet Holmes wonder from SPACEWEATHER.COM
"Two objects streaking through the cloud suggested the possibility of a rocket burn or fuel dump"--and that is the correct explanation. This cloud mimicking Comet 17P/Holmes is fuel dumped from the upper stage of an Atlas rocket that launched a classified satellite into orbit for the National Reconnaissance Office earlier this evening. It was a splendid display, now faded away.

2007-12-10 13:04:30 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1 0

Sorry but this was not Comet Holmes. Comet Holmes hasn't moved very much since the first "explosion". This thing, however was move very quickly. Not as fast as a meteor but slower than an airplane.

2007-12-10 11:54:36 · answer #4 · answered by miarmyguy 2 · 1 0

I've heard one recently that seems interesting
they claim its a Centaur upperstage of an Atlas V rocket delivering a satellite into orbit

he said he saw it with his binoculars

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AmMSDlwtQb5HnRXi_yqYrg0Bxgt.;_ylv=3?qid=20071210171705AA0l27f

here are the stats I found on wiki about the recent launch


2007-12-10

serial-no AV-015
luanch site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Canaveral_Air_Force_Station_Launch_Complex_41
payload- NRO L-24 Reconnaissance satellite
orbit -Success

http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=11016&mid=221256

although, the reported times on both sides seem to be off by an hour and a half or so

2007-12-10 11:19:13 · answer #5 · answered by Mercury 2010 7 · 1 0

Cloudy here. Are the chances of anything coming from Mars still a million to one? Ulla...

2007-12-10 11:56:02 · answer #6 · answered by elohimself 4 · 0 1

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