Enigmatic Comet Holmes

Comet 17P/Holmes has had a history of producing outbursts of activity; the exact cause is still unknown. Regardless of the cause, the result is that the coma of the comet expands as fresh dust is released from the comet nucleus. Snapshot 1 shows a large coma, a short tail, and an orientation that closely matches that of the comet when it underwent its most recent outburst.