Starship Asterisk*

Here's a sky map from Spaceweather.com

http://spaceweather.com/images2007/05nov07/skymap_north_holmes.gif?PHPSESSID=qb4s86hbu791iraj17qhr8l8j6

Thanks a lot BMAONE23 & Case for your directions in locating the Comet. I'll try to locate it tonight if it doesn't rain tonight! I could locate Cassiopeia and there was a bright object to its right, but with my binoculars too i wasn't able to see the "coma" that is being spoken of. Unfortunately, as Holmes' tail isnt visible, i had some difficulty. But not giving up so easily!

Thanks again.

[quote="Sudhamshu"]By the way, i was searching for Comet Holmes, couldn't locate it so took this snap of my favourite constellation.[/quote]
Here's how I find the comet:
With Orion in the East, you should look towards North-North-East, about 1/6 of a full circle to the left. A bit higher in the sky than Orion, you should find the somewhat bright stars γ And (Almach), α Per (Mirfak) and β Per (Algol) form a triangle. Right below that is another smaller triangle of α Per, δ Per and Holmes. Holmes is the lower one, and in binoculars visible as a disc; notably not a point source such as stars are.

[url=http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/1941/holmesfinderchartsp4.jpg][img]http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/5922/holmesfinderchartsmallsd7.jpg[/img][/url] (Click for a quarter sky chart.)

If you have trouble finding the Almach-Mirfak-Algol triangle, then start out with [url=http://img213.imageshack.us/img213/6835/cassiopeiadr3.jpg]Cassiopeia[/url] and go eastward.

[quote="Sudhamshu"]Hi,
I would like to know if the clouds in the horizon in the following snap - [url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/sudhamshu/1876165170/[/url] - are noctilucent or just light pollution.
By the way, i was searching for Comet Holmes, couldn't locate it so took this snap of my favourite constellation.[/url][/quote]

To answer the question posed in your photo, the Orion nebula is in the area of the Knife stars (below the belt).

This is also the area that the Maya refered to as "Xibalba" Shi-bal-ba. The underworld.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_there_a_star_or_supernova_by_the_name_of_Xibalba

Have you located the comet yet?
Start at the Pleiades, then move 1/3 of the way directly toward the North Star.

Hi,
I think you are probably looking at light pollution in your image. It looks like here are some type of thin medium or high level clouds catchintg the light of a town or city.
Noctilucent clouds in the northern hemisphere usually appear between May and August and are rarely seen south of about 50 degrees north. By the orientation of Orion in relation to the horizon in your image I take it that you are quite a ways south of this.
There were however, some reports of N. clouds seen in Colorado a few years back and also reports of some displays being related to the plumes from shuttle launches and meteor trains but I really think you are just looking at thoughtless man-made, scattered and wasted light.

Hi,
I would like to know if the clouds in the horizon in the following snap - [url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/sudhamshu/1876165170/[/url] - are noctilucent or just light pollution.
By the way, i was searching for Comet Holmes, couldn't locate it so took this snap of my favourite constellation.[/url]

In the explanation to the APOD of October 28 2007 it states the picture was taken "last month", but the date with it in P-M Heden's website is 2006-07-11. Though most of the explanation was clearly taken from that to the APOD of July 18 2006 it is unfortunate that the date taken was not amended. I find it of interest to know where and when each APOD was taken.

Yeah, it's the exact same picture, only processed for colour and slightly vertically squashed from the original.

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap071028.html

This photo is either a recoloration of APOD 18 July 2006 or a separate shot taken within seconds. It's a beautiful photograph, but it's deja vu all over again (been there, done that, and would surely buy the t-shirt if there was one). Love those clouds.