Images: Exploding comet grows a tail

On October 24, comet 17P/Holmes amazed sky watchers when it grew more than a million times brighter in a matter of a hours. Holmes went from being a tiny dot that could only been seen by powerful telescopes to a green glowing body that can easily be seen by the naked eye. And now this comet even has a blue tail.

Scientists are puzzled as to the cause of the amazing change in the comet, officially known as 17P/Holmes--originally discovered in 1892 (discovery photo later). Perhaps, there was a breakup on the comet's surface or it could have struck a smaller object. They do expect that its current intensity will fade in a few weeks as the gases from its explosion dissipate.

The one thing missing from the comet was a tail but Jack Newton captured it during his observations this week.

Photo by Jack Newton