Object description: Discovered by the British amateur astronomer Edwin Holmes on November 6, 1892, 17P/Holmes is a short period comet in our solar system. On October 24, 2007 the comet brightened significantly, by nearly a million times, from magnitude 17 to magnitude 2.8 over a few hours, becoming a naked-eye object in the evening sky. From my location in Weed, NM at 7300 feet, it is a very obvious fuzz-ball.

Lens: Maksutov Rubinar f4.5/300mm
Camera: Modified Canon 20D
Mount: Meade LXD-55 unguided
Filter Wheel: None
Filters: None

Date Taken: 01NOV2007
Location: Sacramento Mountains Astronomy Park, Weed, NM

Sky conditions: 21.81 mags/arcsecond^2, transparency 4/5, seeing 3/5, temp 10C
Image Acquisition: 30x30s, no filter, using ImagesPlus3 beta10

Image Processing: ImagesPlus3 beta10 used for calibration, bayerization, alignment, MinMaxExc combine, initial DDP, color balance. PSCS2 used for levels, curves, and star color enhancement. GradX used for an almost non-existent gradient. THIS IS FIRST LIGHT FOR MY NEW LOCATION IN NM. My observatory is not yet completed, but I can do some very wide-field imaging.

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