C/2012 S1 (ison) Could Be The Brightest Comet Ever Seen By Mankind

[frogesque]

I can vouch for that. I did spot Halley's in about 1986, but knew where to look for it and had to use binoculars!

Ditto! As a kid I dreamt of still being around for Halley but it was a proper dud. I did manage to spot it with the bins but it wasn't a great target.

 

Hyakutake was a good naked eye show all be it a bit brief, Hale-Bopp was magnificent and could bee seen for months!

[Coast]

The intricate flow of Comet Lovejoy’s tail

 

Astronomers used the Subaru Telescope to capture this image of Comet Lovejoy’s tail on December 3, 2013. This comet is now visible in earthly skies.

 

 

This month, if you can find the Big Dipper late at night or before dawn – and if you have a dark sky, free of city lights – you, too, might be able to spot it. Click here for information and charts on how to find Comet Lovejoy. A team of astronomers from Stony Brook University (the State University of New York at Stony Brook), the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), and others captured the photo above, which shows the complex, wiggling streams in the tail of Comet Lovejoy. Bottom line: Astronomers used the Subaru Telescope to capture this beautiful photo of the intricate flow in the tail of Comet Lovejoy on December 3, 2013. This comet is now visible from Earth, in dark skies.

 

http://earthsky.org/space/the-intricate-flow-of-comet-lovejoys-tail

 

 

 

 

How to find Lovejoy (he's either in his shed or his old Volvo estate I guess! :lol: ):

 

http://earthsky.org/space/how-to-see-comet-lovejoy-c2013-r1-charts-photos

 

 

 

[Essan]

Lovejoy isn't all that bright but can be found with binoculars (might be naked eye visible if you're far enough away from light pollution) - finally got to see it this morning.  My photos show only a faint blur though  It should be visible in the NW in the evening, though is higher in the sky around 6am

[Polar Maritime]

COMET ISON UPDATE: Later this month, NASA plans to point the Hubble Space Telescope at Comet ISON to see if anything remains after the comet'sdeath plunge through the sun's atmosphere on Nov. 28th. http://www.spaceweather.com/

[Coast]

Comet ISON has disappointed the sky watchers after breaking up from its closest flyby to the Sun last November 28. However, the 2013 Comet Lovejoy (C/2013 R1) puts on a fine sky display for viewers this December while making its solar approach.

 

According to the Digital Journal report, Comet Lovejoy began its visibility with the naked eye in the night sky last November. On Wednesday, December 4, the comet started to be located in the small constellation of Corona Borealis as it approaches the Sun and it will take place until Thursday, December 12.

 

Comet Lovejoy will be reaching its closest point to the Sun on Sunday, December 22, at a distance estimated to be over 75 million miles (approximately 121 million kilometers). Astronomers from the Stony Brook University and National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) have captured images of the comet's ion tail using the Subaru telescope located in Mauna Kea, Hawaii.

 

"The pictures, which were obtained using a wide-field, prime-focus camera known as Suprime-Cam, show the tail's 'intricate flow' using a combination of a wide field of view and high spatial resolution provides a clear delineation of the complex, wiggling streams in the comet's tail," the NAOJ stated in the Red Orbit report.

 

The space agency further added: "At the time of this observation, at around 5:30 am on December 3, 2013 (Hawaii Standard Time), Comet Lovejoy was 50 million miles (80 million km) distant from Earth and 80 million miles (130 million km) away from the Sun. Comet Lovejoy's visibility has been increasing in the eastern sky. The current image adds even more data about this newly-discovered comet."

 

Deborah Byrd of Earthsky.org gave a step-by-step guide to help the amateur astronomers in tracking down the 2013 Comet Lovejoy. The comet can be spotted low at pre-dawn in the north-northeastern skies as it gets closer to the horizon. Spectators can have a look at Comet Lovejoy with the use of binoculars or telescope and clear skies before the crack of dawn in the Hercules constellation. The 2013 Comet Lovejoy is expected to fade away on December 30.

 

 

 

http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/528426/20131209/2013-comet-lovejoy-december-sky-display-ison.htm#.UqbNo9JdWuI

[Bobby]

Been trying to find it but every night there has been cloud around the visible time. Almost got there last night but fog and mist appeared. Poxy country!

[Polar Maritime]

Fire vs. Ice: The Science of ISON at Perihelion

After a year of observations, scientists waited with bated breath on Nov. 28, 2013, as Comet ISON made its closest approach to the sun, known as perihelion. Would the comet disintegrate in the fierce heat and gravity of the sun? Or survive intact to appear as a bright comet in the pre-dawn sky?

Some remnant of ISON did indeed make it around the sun, but it quickly dimmed and fizzled as seen with NASA's solar observatories. This does not mean scientists were disappointed, however. A worldwide collaboration ensured that observatories around the globe and in space, as well as keen amateur astronomers, gathered one of the largest sets of comet observations of all time, which will provide fodder for study for years to come.

On Dec. 10, 2013, researchers presented science results from the comet's last days at the 2013 Fall American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco, Calif. They described how this unique comet lost mass in advance of reaching perihelion and most likely broke up during its closest approach, as well, as summarized what this means for determining what the comet was made of.  http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/fire-vs-ice-the-science-of-ison-at-perihelion/#.Uqe60ujGT38.buffer

[Polar Maritime]

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Edited December 26, 2013 by Polar Maritime

[Polar Maritime]

[Gray-Wolf]

Seeing as we have clear skies forecast I might take a peep tonight/tomorrow to see if we have an uptick in activity? I wonder if the NASA gut predicting a noctilucent show will be proven right?

[Polar Maritime]

Yes G.W, certainly something to keep an eye on..

 

[laserguy]

Comets are always such a disappointment. I'm hanging on in there for Betelgeuse to go supernova.....

[frogesque]

Yes G.W, certainly something to keep an eye on..

 

You'll need good eyesight - these are polar NCs over the Antarctic!

[Boro Snow]

http://www.livestream.com/eurospaceagency

 

Interesting viewing as Rosetta the comet chasing space craft to be awoken at 11am 

[Bobby]

http://www.livestream.com/eurospaceagency

 

Interesting viewing as Rosetta the comet chasing space craft to be awoken at 11am 

 

Looks like it will be around 17:45 before we get a signal back, hopefully it's still alive, is a fascinating mission

 

http://blogs.esa.int/rosetta/2014/01/20/tracking-timeline-critical-times/