On October 24th, Comet Holmes (17P) exploded a million-fold from a measly 17th-magnitude, telescope only nothing, into a bright, new, naked eye (even in light polluted cities), magnitude 2.5 star, shining yellow-orange in Perseus. Don't expect to see a long tail as we are, and will be, 'looking down the barrel of the riffle' because we on the Earth are situated between the Sun and the comet, which makes the tail head away from us due to the solar wind. Happy viewing to those so interested. http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/home/10775326.html
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Oct 26 2007, 03:58 PM) [snapback]530917[/snapback]</div> Nah - that extra thick layer of pollution will cause it to burn up in the atmosphere and what's ever left will be no bigger than a chihuahua's head.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(moxiequz @ Oct 26 2007, 07:12 PM) [snapback]530923[/snapback]</div> And if you're wrong, may we all be horribly crushed from above somehow.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Oct 26 2007, 05:58 PM) [snapback]530917[/snapback]</div> Nope, not even close. It is orbiting the sun and never crosses path with the Earths orbit. It just means that in its current position as viewed from the earth it is on the opposite side from the sun. The tail does not trail behind the comet's direction of travel, it always trails away from the sun no matter which direction the comet is traveling. If you think of a circular track, and think of the earth rounding on the inside, the comet is passing us on the outside (way, way outside) like further away than mars, and the sun is in the center of the track. Since the tail trails directly away from the sun, it also trails directly away from us right now. This puts the tail behind the coma and therefore we can't see the tail right now from earth.
