2013 Comet ISON: ‘Comet of the Century’ Now Visible in Binoculars? Captured Photo Show Comet ISON’s Two Tails
The excitement for the 2013 Comet ISON increased after NASA'S Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) predicted that the comet could shine as bright as the Full Moon and even become visible during broad daylight. The latest update on the "Comet of the Century" reveal that Comet ISON is now visible in binoculars as it heads towards a close flyby with the Sun and Earth.
This serves as good news to the sky gazers - professional astronomers, scientists, amateurs and the general public -who want to have a look at the Comet ISON. "Scientists are excited about the chunk of ice that is glowing its way into the imagination of scientists. NASA scientists are eager to find out how it would react to intense ultraviolet light and solar wind as the virgin space enters solar current sheet for the first time," the NVO News report reads.
On Sunday, November 10, Michael Jager of Jauerling, Austria was able to capture an image of Comet ISON with its two tails, the ion tail and the dust tail, and share it at Earthsky.org. According to the report, the solar wind "creates the ion tail as the solar particles interact with gases from the comet's nucleus or core" while the dust tail is created from small pieces of dirt coming from the comet's nucleus where the sun's light pressure pushes it away.
The Spaceweather.com Web site further explains: "ISON is leaving a trail of comet dust as it moves through the solar system. Compared to the lightweight molecules in the ion tail, grains of comet dust are heavier and harder for solar wind to push around. The dust tends to stay where it is dropped. The dust tail, therefore, traces the comet's orbit and does not point directly away from the sun as the ion tail does."
The 2013 Comet ISON will be making its closest flyby to the Sun on Thursday, November 28. "It will come very, very close to the sun's surface. We don't know what's going to happen, that's what's exciting. It could break into pieces," Denton Ebel, a meteorite specialist at the American Museum of Natural History, stated.
More Articles to Read:
2013 Comet ISON: NASA Spots 'Comet of the Century' in Leo Constellation, Comet ISON Brightening Up - [READ]
2013 Comet ISON: Latest Images Show 'Comet of the Century' Growing a New Ion Tail - [READ]
2013 Comet ISON: National Science Foundation Launches Comet ISON Photo Contest for Amateur Astronomers - [READ]
