19-November-2007, 03:26 PM
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Order of Kilopi
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 4,369
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Picture of Comet Holmes from the Sky & Telescope website.
Nice picture and some more info:
http://media.skyandtelescope.com/ima...mes+Dyer_l.jpg
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/news/home/11372856.html
Quote:
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One possible explanation that's almost certainly not correct is that it was struck by an asteroidal fragment. Although this comet occupies the realm between Mars and Jupiter, its orbital inclination (19°) actually keeps 17P/Holmes well separated from most denizens of the asteroid belt. Moreover, counting the outbursts that occurred during and after its discovery in 1892, three collisions would be needed to explain all the activity.
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