Active Comet ISON
From
NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day
Falling through planet
Earth's predawn skies toward
its close encounter with the Sun on November 28, Comet ISON is coming
to life.
The much anticipated
comet has now been reported to
have substantially increased in brightness, surging to naked-eye visibility for
dark sites and sprouting a more complex
tail.
ISON's tail stretches
over two degrees in this telephoto
skyview from southern Kenya,
captured on the morning of November 14.
Shown in two panels, the
enlarged negative version on the right makes details of the long tail easier to
trace, including the tail's separated filaments
toward the top of the frame.
A sungrazer and first
time visitor to the inner solar system, the possibility of ISON's
survival to become a bright comet in planet Earth's December skies remains
a question.
Image Credit & Copyright: Babak Tafreshi (TWAN)