In late October 2007, Comet Holmes (periodic comet 17) underwent a remarkable brightening, from 17th magnitude to 2nd magnitude, a million-fold increase in brightness which took it from total invisibility, even with large telescopes, in the bright skies in Long Beach, to naked-eye visibility. Its position, slightly below Mirfak, or Alpha Persei, makes it easy to see from early evening to dawn, as long as it remains so bright. Binoculars and small telescopes can show its head, or coma, which is now (as is typical for bright comets) larger than Jupiter (that is, about 100,000 miles in diameter), and a faint tail is visible in photographs.