<p style="text-align:center"></p> <p>I’ve held off posting about Comet ISON’s fate following its close encounter with the Sun as conflicting reports about whether it survived the encounter or not have been flying
<p style="text-align: center;"></p> <p>Comet C/2012 S1 was discovered in September 2012 by Russian astronomers Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok using data from the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON). For that reason,
<p style="text-align:center"></p> <p>In 2007, astronomers were amazed when a solar storm hit Comet Encke. NASA STEREO spacecraft watched as a CME (coronal mass ejection) struck the comet head on and
<p style="text-align: center;"></p> <p>Hopes are high for Comet ISON, which has the potential to become the most spectacular comet seen in years. ISON is speeding through the inner solar system at
<p style="text-align:center"></p> <p>Just a couple of days ago, Comet ISON was ten times brighter than it was on Nov. 13-14 when an unexpected outburst propelled the sundiver into the realm of
<p style="text-align:center"></p> <p>What are the odds? On Nov. 18th and 19th not one but two comets will fly by the planet Mercury.</p> <p>“This is a unique coincidence,” says Ron Vervack an astronomer
<p style="text-align:center"></p> <p>Comet ISON is brightening as it approaches the sun. Multiple observers now report that it is a binocular object. “I finally saw Comet ISON for the first time using
<p style="text-align:center"></p> <p>Observations indicate that the sudden exposure to strong sunlight when the currently dark side of the comet gets closer to the Sun could trigger huge outbursts.</p> <p>Scientists are unraveling more
<p style="text-align:center"></p> <p>The countdown clock is ticking to comet ISON’s hair-raising passage around the sun on Nov. 28, as it grazes the sun at a distance of only 1.5 times the
<p class="small" style="text-align: center;"></p> <p>A useful point of comparison is Comet Lovejoy, which put on a grand show after it brushed the sun in 2011. People in the southern