Hubble Captures Comet ISON
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image of Comet (C/2012 S1) ISON was photographed on April 10, when the comet was slightly closer than Jupiter’s orbit at a distance of 386 million miles from the Sun (394 million miles from Earth).
Even at that great distance the comet is already active as sunlight warms the surface and causes frozen volatiles to sublimate. A detailed analysis of the dust coma surrounding the solid, icy nucleus reveals a strong, jet blasting dust particles off the sunward-facing side of the comet’s nucleus. See more at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/ison-view.html 
'Comet of the Century' Could Create New Meteor Shower
From now through October, comet ISON tracks through the constellations Gemini, Cancer and Leo as it falls toward the sun. Image released March 29, 2013.
Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Axel Mellinger
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Comet Could Blast Earth With Weird Meteor Shower
A small but incredibly bright comet heading toward the sun could do more than dazzle Earth’s skies when it arrives later this year. Scientists say Comet ISON, already shedding dust at the prodigious rate of about 112,000 pounds per minute, could spark an unusual meteor shower.
Computer simulations predicting the location and movement of the comet’s dust trail show Earth will be passing through the fine-grained stream around Jan. 12, 2014. See more at: http://news.discovery.com/space/asteroids-meteors-meteorites/comet-ison-meteors-earth-130423.htm |
November 2013
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