Ison - comet of the century

[Nova]

I hope the scientist don't try to destroy it and end up splitting it in two or something like that. Or push it closer instead of further away. Just let nature take it's course.

Unless it seems likely to hit and do great damage to Earth, why would they do any of that? And where would they get the money?

(Splitting or altering the orbit of a comet would cost at least millions, more likely billions, of dollars. They'd be more likely to send a probe to observe it up close, but even that may be cost-prohibitive at this late date. Space missions are planned decades in advance.)

 

[HMSHood]

Latest information on Comet PANSTARR.
http://www.heavens-above.com/comet.aspx?cid=C/2011 L4&lat=0&lng=0&loc=Unspecified&alt=0&tz=UCT

You need a telescope to see that comet. It should get brighter by March.

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Hello to my Stargazing Pals on WS!:seeya:

I am not on my computer at the moment... So cannot provide link...

But Ace of Spades HQ -"Spaced-Out Guide to the 2013 Perseid Meteor Shower"

reminds us that the peak dates to observe the Perseid Meteor Shower will be late August 11th...early morning August 12th!

:fireworks: :fireworks2: :fireworks:

 

[IHAVENOCLUE]

Hello, again, my Fellow Night Watching Sleuthers! :fireworks2:

Here is an article about the ISON comet that may appear very soon...
:skip:
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...44103a-53b6-11e3-a7f0-b790929232e1_story.html

Comet ISON, if it survives trip around the sun, could bring spectacular sky show

"As Comet ISON hurtles towards the sun, its million-year-long journey through our solar system may end with its violent death — or a spectacular sky show."

"On Thanksgiving, when the comet rounds the sun, professional and amateur astronomers alike will await ISON’s fate with bated breath. Its tail may get ripped off by a cloud of solar particles, or the sun’s brutal radiation and pressure may demolish it completely."

"But if ISON makes it out alive, stargazers say it could provide a breathtaking show visible to the naked eye and possibly live up to the name “Comet of the Century,” as some astronomers have dubbed it."

Much more interesting (IMO) information in link above...