Ison: The comet of the century

[Jazzy]

This amazing photo of Ison was taken by Damian Peach with a 20cm telescope on 15 November

If we're lucky, then in just a few days time we could witness one of the most spectacular sights in the night sky for a generation or more.

Astronomers hope that on 3 December a comet will appear on the eastern horizon - Comet Ison.

For the whole month of December, millions of people across the northern hemisphere should be able to see its tail, which is several millions of kilometres long, stretching across the dawn sky.

Ison has come from the Oort cloud, a belt of comets on the very edge of the Solar System, where it has been for the last 4.6 billion years.

What makes Ison so special is that it is a "sungrazer". Many comets pass through the Solar System every decade, but very few go through the corona of the Sun. Ison will do just that.

Its passage through the corona, which happens on 28 November, will be watched with great interest by astronomers across the world.

Full article

I hope I get to see this!

Will you be looking for it too?

 

[Nebulous]

Sure! Seems like a cool thing. Thanks for sharing.