Westmont astronomers reported on 11/13 that their Keck Telescope captured images of a “rare celestial surprise”-the sudden brightening of Comet 17P/Holmes, near the constellation Perseus in the northeastern sky. In a statement from Westmont, physics professor Michael Sommermann noted that the comet had previously been faint but had only recently become roughly one million times brighter. Scientists have not yet determined why the comet became brighter.
