Comet ISON outbursts – could become easy naked-eye object by the end of the week
Observers around the world are reporting that Comet ISON brightened sharply last night and is now at the threshold of naked-eye visibility. By some reports, ISON surged in brightness by approximately 2 magnitudes over last 24 hours and is now brighter than comet Lovejoy.
If this trend continues, it will be a faint but easy naked-eye object by the end of the week, SpaceWeather reports.
The sudden uptick in brightness could be caused by a fresh vein of ice opening up in the comet's nucleus. Rapid vaporization of ice by solar heat is a sure way to boost a comet's visibility.
ISON's brush with the Sun on November 28th is very near and many more of these brightening events might happen but all three scenarios for ISON are still open. The first possible scenario is fizzle – ISON evaporates under intense tidal forces and solar radiation. The second scenario is break-up – ISON breaks into smaller chunks.
The third scenario is what everybody hopes will happen – sizzle – ISON survives its brush with the Sun and emerges so bright it becomes visible on Earth in daylight.
Meanwhile, Solar System Scope team added a second view at their 3D model of ISON's approach. Now you can switch to "View from Earth" and see the position of ISON in your night sky. You can use your system's position or enter any location you want. The link to the updated 3D model is here.
Happy hunting!
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November 15th update:
Outburst continues and images now reveal multiple streams from the comet. Damian Peach captured this awesome image of ISON today:
Image copyright: Damian Peach. November 15, 2013
Featured image: Comet ISON taken by Damian Peach on November 15, 2013.
How is it that the scientific community hasnt clearly resolved the issue of comets? They are not "balls of dirty snow".
Why is the electromagnetic principles of the universe not embraced, rather than the old school ideas?
the outburst was caused by the cme that hits it yesterday…not sublimating ice, it never was…it is an electric interaction between ison's gases and sun's charged particles,it resulted in a huge light like a neon tube. it seems comet ison will fulfill the prophecies, it seems beeing the object that the illuminati were waiting for and depicting in denver aeroport, it is very likely the beggining of a very hard time for humanity.