The comet can be seen in the constellation Perseus, which is found in the northeastern sky after sunset. A good sky map appears at the ESA Science and Technology website “Sky Position of Comet 17P/Holmes” at: http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=41494.

The planet Venus will also appear to the left of the Moon. And, above the two, is the planet Jupiter.

If this is not enough for you, many outside night viewers will see the NASA space shuttle and the International Space Station fly over together. They are docked together but later in the week space shuttle Discovery will undock and possibly be seen as a bright spot in the night sky along side the International Space Station.

The STS-120 crew is now scheduled to depart the station on November 7, 2007, although that date is tentative depending if an extra space walk is necessary.

Check out these websites for your particular times when the shuttle and station fly over your local night sky:

NASA SpaceFlight: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/index.html
Heavens-Above: http://www.heavens-above.com/main.aspx

The website of Heavens-Above also contains information on Comet Holmes.


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