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Hubble Looks but Finds No Trace of Comet ISON
Each of the four panels is a combination of two separate exposures made by the Hubble Space Telescope as it tracked Comet ISON’s position. Had the comet been in any of these frames, it would have appeared as a small fuzzy glow or stellar point(s) in the center. Credit: NASA/ESA
On December 18, the Hubble Space Telescope slewed to Comet ISON’s expected position and found nothing down to the incredibly faint magnitude of 25. According to astronomer Hal Weaver, who planned the ISON search, that limit implies any remaining fragments would have to be smaller than about 500 feet (160 meters) in diameter. (…)
Read the rest of Hubble Looks but Finds No Trace of Comet ISON (212 words)
© Bob King for Universe Today, 2013. |
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Post tags: Comet ISON, HST, Hubble
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Source: http://www.universetoday.com/107407/hubble-looks-but-finds-no-trace-of-comet-ison/
The current projected tracking of comet ison (if it is of significant) suggest it is about 68 million km away from earth with a possible flyby at approximately 39 million km on Dec 26th. And then the potential of earth going through its tail (if it is of significant) from Dec 26th through Jan 15th of 2014. I do not say yah or nay but rather wait for the fat lady to sing before making a sound decision.
Yep that’s close. But, a couple of points for clarification. It is .43 AU (39,970,997 miles) for the closest point, which rounds to 40 million miles on 12/26 and the tail crossing will not start until about Jan 12, 2014.
Yeah, it’s nit picking, but I think significant enough to mention. Also, I have no worries for the Dec 26th date, because nothing significant will even come close to us. Its passing further away from us than Mars ever comes, for Pete’s sake.
Finally, the main part of the tail debris is actually above our orbit, but the solar wind has been selectively pushing only the smallest particles (micron-sized) down to our level since Nov 1st, when ISON passed through that area, which of course is before it broke apart. Micron-sized particles are too small to burn up in our atmosphere.
It won’t be much of a song for the fat lady, I think. A non-event, for the most part.
I was hoping you would give your feedback. It is appreciated. I suspect your input is leaning towards the truth.
Personally, I would love to see some meteors from ISON and for us to have a yearly shower from the debris. I’m not totally certain, but I think the radiant of a possible shower would be just below Leo near the Virgo constellation boundary. That’s where ISON was on Nov 1st, 2013.
The best times to look would be just after the moon sets on the morning of January 13, 2014, which is about 4:55 AM. Also, the next morning between 5:45 and 6:00 AM. The moon, which will be waxing and nearly full, will wash out any faint meteors before those times. Also, the area they might come from is high overhead and just past the meridian at those times.
They sure to point in the right direction ??
I have my doubts