2013 comet may be brightest ever seen
Excitement continues to rise among both professional and amateur
astronomers about Comet ISON, which on Nov. 28 of this year might become
one of the brightest comets ever seen, outshining such recent dazzlers
as Comet Hale-Bopp (1997) and Comet McNaught (2007).
Fortunately, Comet ISON was
discovered 14 months before this perihelion passage — its closest point
to the sun — while still distant and faint, thus giving observers time
to plan. Another major advantage is that this fine object will be
favorably placed for viewing, first in the morning sky before perihelion
passage on Nov. 28, and then both in the mning and evening sky
afterward.
Comet ISON was discovered photographically last Sep. 21 by Russians
Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok, who detected it using a 15.7-inch
(0.4 meters) reflecting telescope of
the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON) which is located
near Kislovodsk at the northern foot of the Caucasus range in Russia.
Subsequently, pre-discovery images dating back to December 2011 were
found by the Mount Lemmon Survey in Arizona and by the Panoramic Survey
Telescope and Rapid Response System (PANSTARRS) in Hawaii from January
2012. ISON’s discovery was announced by the Minor Planet Center in
Cambridge, Massachusetts on Sep. 24; it’s officially catalogued as
C/2012 S1. [Spectacular Comet Photos (Gallery)] Full story Foxnews
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