Comet ISON

[Moonliner]

Come on baby hold it together!

Tomorrow (Thanksgiving day) Comet ISON will loop around the Sun. If it survives this close encounter we have at least a shot for "Comet of the Century".

I'll be waiting breathlessly for updates. (http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy.html)

[€uroMeinke]

I've been following along with NASA on this. Love the flyby simulation ap so you can see just how quickly it will whip around the sun. I'll be watching the play by play tomorrow as well as I'm betting she won't make it

[Ghoulish Delight]

This is the one that should be so bright it's visible in the daytime sky (if it survives the solar winds), right?

[Ghoulish Delight]

I picked a good time to decide to give Theo a telescope for Hannukah :)

[Moonliner]

This is the one that should be so bright it's visible in the daytime sky (if it survives the solar winds), right?

Yes, however "should" is a strong word for now. "Potential to be" is better.

Here is a quick where to look gif. (http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/ISONCometB-Proof_03.gif)

[Moonliner]

For anyone else that wants to watch the play-by-play with commertary, you can find it here on the Comet ISON Google+ Hangout (https://plus.google.com/events/c8t7i5dbr1k50oq89giloiqe8rc) tomorrow.

[RStar]

It may be too cloudy to see much from here. :(

[Ghoulish Delight]

Cloudy or not, today isn't the day to see anything as a casual observer. Today it's going to be going past the sun...you really shouldn't be looking at it. Best way to observe it today is via the official observatory feeds Moonie linked to.

IF it survive's today's encounter with the sun, then it may be observable through December.

[Moonliner]

Nooooooo!!!

Early indications are that ISON did not survive it's sun-dive. Looks like we get a big bunch of smeared out ice and dust.

*sad*

[€uroMeinke]

Eh too bad, but a fun way to spend Thanksgiving morning watching scientists speculate

[€uroMeinke]

It Lives! (http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/comet-ison-may-have-survived/#.UpkASWRDurI)

[Moonliner]

It Lives! (http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/comet-ison-may-have-survived/#.UpkASWRDurI)

Sadly any hope for "comet of the century" is toast. Even getting to naked eye brightness would be long shot.

However, ISON has one more long shot up it's sleeve. It's possible earth will be going through ISON's debris trail. That could result in something spectacular.

[RStar]

I find it amuzing how people have been refering this lump of rock and ice as "living" or "dying" like it is a living being. It's a dirty snowball hurtling through space at hundreds of thousands of miles per hour, people. ;)

The skys are clearing, so maybe I'll see some dirty snow tomorrow!

[Moonliner]

However, ISON has one more long shot up it's sleeve. It's possible earth will be going through ISON's debris trail. That could result in something spectacular.

Or not.


According to Wiegert's computer models, the debris stream is populated with extremely tiny grains of dust, no more than a few microns wide, pushed toward Earth by the gentle radiation pressure of the sun. They will be hitting at a speed of 56 km/s or 125,000 mph. Because the particles are so small, Earth’s upper atmosphere will rapidly slow them to a stop.
"Instead of burning up in a flash of light, they will drift gently down to the Earth below," he says.

[RStar]

"Instead of burning up in a flash of light, they will drift gently down to the Earth below," he says.

Where I will then catch them on my tounge....:p