Explanation:
With pine trees in dim silhouette,
this
skyscape
from Breil-sur-Roya in southern France was
captured on November 11.
In the early evening scene, a satellite seems to streak through the
branches, while bright, round, fuzzy
Comet
Holmes appears to lie
just beyond them, near the stars of the constellation
Perseus.
Mirfak,
alpha star of Perseus, is the brightest
star above the comet and to the right.
Next Monday (November 19), Holmes will be close enough to
Mirfak to view the star through the remarkable comet's expanding
coma.
Recent
measurements place the dusty coma's diameter at about
1.4 million kilometers, even larger
than the
Sun.
Ed.'s Note: Predawn skies this weekend will feature the
Leonids Meteor Shower.
