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Holmes Comet Coma Grows Bigger Than The Sun

coondoggie passed us a NetworkWorld article, as he does, noting that there is now an object in our solar system bigger than Sol. The Holmes comet has a huge coma, with a diameter scientists are now calculating to be larger than our own middle-sized star. "Scientists don't seem to have a guess as to how big it will ultimately become. The Holmes coma's diameter on Nov. 9 was 869,900 miles (1.4 million kilometers), based on measurements by Rachel Stevenson, Jan Kleyna and Pedro Lacerda of the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy. The sun's diameter, stated differently by various sources, is about 864,900 miles (1.392 million kilometers)."

23 of 245 comments (clear)

  1. In other news... by explosivejared · · Score: 4, Funny

    Sol now jealous of the precocious, scampy little comet's meteoric rise in popularity and size has become addicted to painkillers and alcohol. Friends close to the star hope to be able to talk the down-and-out celestial body into going to rehab.

    --
    I got a catholic block.
    1. Re:In other news... by john83 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Nah, it'll just resort to using a cane and become bitter and hilariously sarcastic.

      --
      Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
    2. Re:In other news... by techpawn · · Score: 1, Funny

      Leave the Sun Alone!!! It loves its Aunt! It's been going through a divorce! You don't know it so you can't judge it!

      I know I'm going to hell

      --
      Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what your country did to you
    3. Re:In other news... by o'reor · · Score: 4, Funny

      Sol now jealous of the precocious, scampy little comet's meteoric rise in popularity and size
      ... and you forgot to mention the "Enl4rg3 y0ur coma" spam mail that Sol has now started to receive...
      --
      In Soviet Russia, our new overlords are belong to all your base.
    4. Re:In other news... by treeves · · Score: 2, Funny

      Sol doesn't have a coma. It has a corona! Even better!

      --
      ...the future crusty old bastards are already drinking the Kool-Aid.
  2. Old Sol gets his comeuppance by wsanders · · Score: 1, Funny

    I welcome our giant comet overlords. When we are put to work to toil in their ice and ammonia mines, or whatever this comet is made of, we can say to ourselves, 'This sure beats working on the surface of the Sun, we sure put one over on old Sol!"

    --
    Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
  3. oblig by Joe+the+Lesser · · Score: 3, Funny

    Man: Every once and a while we dump a big piece of ice in the ocean, solving our problems once and for all.
    Girl: But...
    Man: ONCE AND FOR ALL!

    --
    "I only speak the truth"
    Karma: null(Mostly affected by an unassigned variable)
  4. That's a big one by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Clearly named after John Holmes...

  5. Re:Diameter? A bit hard to define. by gardyloo · · Score: 2, Funny

    mean-free scatting path length Gaaagh! I want my local star neither improvising vocal jazz nor, um, whatever else that word might refer to. Sorry.
  6. "Bigger than..." by RealGrouchy · · Score: 5, Funny

    So we'll have to revise the list, then?

    1. Beatles
    2. Jesus
    3. Holmes Comet
    4. Sun

    - RG>

    --
    Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
  7. Re:Name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    So if it's bigger that Sol, does it look as big as Luna from Terra?

  8. Re:The comet is large... by porkThreeWays · · Score: 2, Funny

    pfft, my pet nibbler's turd weigh as much as that.

    --
    If an officer ever threatens to taze you, say you have a pacemaker.
  9. Re:No fear by idlemind · · Score: 2, Funny

    You are so getting laid this weekend!

  10. Re:No fear by computational+super · · Score: 2, Funny
    Well, loose mass it would.

    I thought dead you were, Master Yoda.

    --
    Proud neuron in the Slashdot hivemind since 2002.
  11. Re:Name by dotancohen · · Score: 2, Funny

    Until /. has at least one non-Sol-system member posting, when anyone refers to THE sun, we know which one it is. I live on Mars, but I still call Sol "The Sun". You Earthlings aren't the only ones orbiting Sol.

    --
    It is dangerous to be right when the government is wrong.
  12. John Holmes Comet Grows Bigger by Fear+the+Clam · · Score: 4, Funny

    The Holmes comet has a huge coma

    And it's headed straight for your black hole, bay-bee.

  13. There's precedent for this by sacrilicious · · Score: 2, Funny

    With a name like Holmes, what did we all expect?

    --
    - First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then ???, then profit.
  14. Re:Name by drfireman · · Score: 4, Funny

    I inhabit a planet circling a nearby "sun." Actually, we call our "sun" Sol, and we find it a little insulting that your SF writers have assumed the name was unclaimed. Stop it. We don't call our "moon" Luna, so you're safe there, but I have to say, on behalf of my people, that it sounds stupid, and "moon" wasn't taken anyway (we call our little satellite thing "Kodak"). There's lots of other stuff you guys have wrong, too, but here on our planet we're not really supposed to be reading Slashdot during work hours. Maybe I'll post from home later.

  15. Re:Name by fm6 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Hey, get your pop culture references straight. The aliens on Star Trek don't speak English, their voices are automatically translated by the "universal translator" which also has the ability to warp the light around their faces so their lips stay in sync with the English version of what they're saying.

  16. Re:Name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    no - i think it makes you a terraist... (your president W. refers to these people a lot)

  17. Re:Name by magarity · · Score: 2, Funny

    Where were you to back me up when the geology teacher in grade 11 asked on a quiz 'what is the name of the star this planet orbits?' He marked me wrong for putting 'Sol' instead of 'the Sun' (same for Luna and Terra on the same quiz). I pointed out the name of the thing was indeed 'Sol' and that putting 'the' in front of it meant the word sun wasn't a proper name. He admitted that even though I was technically correct it wasn't the answer he was looking for so 10% off for each of the 3 anyway. Now THAT shit was pompous.
     
    Damn, I hated high school.

  18. Read the FAQ by benhocking · · Score: 4, Funny

    Slashdot seems to be very Earth-centric. Do you have any plans to be more galactic in your scope?

    Slashdot is Earth-centric. We readily admit this, and really don't see it as a problem. Slashdot is run by Earthlings, after all, and the vast majority of our readership is from the Earth. We're certainly not opposed to doing more galactic stories, but we don't have any formal plans for making that happen. All we can really tell you is that if you're outside the solar system and you have news, submit it, and if it looks interesting, we'll post it.
    --
    Ben Hocking
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  19. Damn you by benhocking · · Score: 3, Funny

    The big fiery ball in the sky is called Sun by [pulling number out of ass] 99.9% of all English speaking humans.

    I'll never be able to use that number again. From now on I'll have to say 0.1% less than 100% or something like that...

    Really, what possessed you to store it up there in the first place?!?

    --
    Ben Hocking
    Need a professional organizer?