Eagles Fan in 'Skins Land

Here's something you don't see every day.  Last night, Comet 17/P (Holmes) suddenly brightened by a factor of 400,000, from magnitude +17 to around magnitude 2.5, visible to the naked eye in big cities.  Astronomers don't understand why this happened, and who knows how long this outburst will last, as the comet is already speeding away from the sun and is far away from earth.

When the skies finally clear out later this week, look for Comet Holmes in the constellation Perseus, high in the north and northeast all night.  Admittedly, it doesn't look like much more than a fuzzy yellowish star, but binoculars or a telescope will bring out more details (but no tail).  Even so, it's an unusual object, and naked-eye comets are relatively rare.

Story: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/observing/highlights/10
775326.html

Finder chart (hey, how do you post pictures?): http://www.spaceweather.com/images2007/24oct07/skymap_
north_holmes.gif?PHPSESSID=aejgtg7le800dh6i2tficj2pn4a>