According to Network World's report, Comet Holmes is passing in front of the star Mirfak these few days, and last night was the 'main event' when the comet appeared to swallow it (from the same report).
I believe you can still catch a glimpse of the Comet Holmes within these few days, but highly dependent on where you live, the condition of the sky, and most importantly, whether you can read the sky map correctly ^^
Image from Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The huge fuzzy entity is the comet, while the bright spot is Mirfak.
Image from SpaceWeather.com
Of course the comet didn't swallow the star physically, it just appeared bigger. However, when it comes to discussing the size, the comet Holmes made quite a bang (literally) last October, when it suddenly exploded, and was brightened by a million fold because of the eruption. By then, the comet can be spotted with naked eyes in the Northern Hemisphere. The size of the comet kept increasing since then, and last week, I read that its size is now greater than the Sun!
If the Earth is so tiny-biny as compared to the two Titans, then what about us living on it ^^;
The picture above isn't exactly accurate in terms of scale. I just adjusted the scales of the different objects so that they reflect the proportion to each other. Here's the Math:
Earth's diameter = 12,756.32 kilometers
The Sun's diameter = 1.392 million km = 10912% of Earth's diameter
Comet Holmes's diameter = 1.4 million km = 10975% of Earth's diameter
I just entered the scale and let Photoshop did the size adjustment for me. Anyway, Scientists don't seem to have a guess as to how big it will ultimately become. (from the same report) Wow! It seems that Comet Holmes is not contempt with its current size and will continue to break the record ^^ But then again, the size of the comet is mostly attributed to the gas and dust erupted since last October. Its tiny core, which is just 3.6 kilometers in diameters is a lot smaller than Earth.
Comet Holmes is the frequent visitor to our Solar System. If you miss last night's sighting, wait another seven years and it will be roughly in the same position again for you to see. Seven years is still a long time for us, but at least Holmes visits us more often than Comet Halley, which only comes around every 76 years. I was just two years old when it visited in 1986. When I get to see it for the first time in 2062, if I live that long to see it I mean, I'll be a 78-year-old antic already XD
Don't miss me again in 2014 :-D
Image from Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Although you can say this kind of news isn't much of a use to our daily life, it's very interesting and inspiring to read. When we compare ourselves (or even try to do so) to the universe, no fight whatsoever! This is a huge world beyond our imagination, and we are just tiny grains of sand in it, or even smaller than that. As such, I think we must always be humble and never be self-centered. Like the universe, there are so much more we need to learn and discover in our world. If we think we are the best, well, think again. The Sun just got beaten by an erupted comet. If we don't work hard to improve ourselves while we have the time, we will be overtaken in no time.
For me, this is the second most interesting astronomical news after the announcement that Pluto is no longer a plant last year:D
