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Comet ISON dangerous encounter with the sun
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Comet ISON dangerous encounter with sun!
Can the comet harm us? And what will happen?
For months, all eyes in the sky have pointed at the comet that’s zooming toward a blisteringly close encounter with the sun.
The moment of truth comes early hours of Thursday November 28 — Thanksgiving Day. 2pm EST.
The sun-grazing Comet ISON, now thought to be less than a mile wide, will either fry and shatter, become victim of the sun’s incredible power, or endure and quite possibly put on one fabulous celestial show
Detected just over a year ago, the comet is passing through the inner solar system for the first time. Still fresh, this comet is thought to bear the pristine matter of the beginning of our solar system.
It’s believed to be straight from the Oort cloud on the fringes of the solar system, home to countless icy bodies, most notably the frozen balls of dust and gas in orbit around the sun known as comets. For whatever reason, ISON was propelled out of this cloud and drawn toward the heart of the solar system by the sun’s intense gravitational pull.
The closer the comet gets to the sun, the faster it gets.
In January, it was clocked at 40,000 mph.
By last Thursday, with just a week to go, it had accelerated to 150,000 mph.
Right around the time many Americans will be feasting on turkey, the comet will zip within 730,000 miles of the sun, less than the actual solar diameter. In other words, another sun wouldn’t fit in the missed distance.
By the time ISON slingshots around the sun, it will be moving at a mind-boggling 828,000 mph. Whether it survives or is torn apart, earthlings have nothing to fear.
Luckily, scientists confirm that the chances of Comet ISON hitting the Earth are a sweet, round zero percent. Even at its closest approach, ISON will be farther away from the Earth than Venus is, and it poses absolutely no threat to the planet. But it could still provide a truly spectacular lightshow this fall.
The comet will venture no closer to us than about 40 million miles, less than half the distance between Earth and the sun. That closest approach to Earth will occur Dec. 26. Then it will head away in the opposite direction forever, given its anticipated trajectory once it flies by the sun.
“”Whatever happens, it’s bound to be interesting. The quip from my colleagues is, ‘Comets are like cats: They have tails and do whatever they want.’”
When and where can I view the comet?
Comet ISON is at its closest to the Sun (perihelion) on 28 November (Thanksgiving Day in the USA), when it is just a million km or so above our star .In the early hours of Thursday morning 2pm EST, looking towards the east.
According to the most optimistic predictions on this day it might be possible to see the comet in the daytime. The comet’s failure to get brighter at the rate originally predicted means it will probably be impossible to view it like this.
What happens during this phase of the comet’s orbit determines how visible it will appear to us. The intense radiation of the Sun will cause material to explosively evaporate off the comet. This could mean the comet will rapidly brighten and develop a more impressive tail, delighting observers. In the worst case, the comet will disintegrate when it is at its closest to the Sun, turning into a plume of debris that will rapidly disperse. If this happens I am afraid this will be the end of the show for amateur observers.
During December 2013 we should be able to see Comet ISON in both the morning and evening sky as it races through the constellations. In early December it will be visible after 7am between Libra and Ophiuchus, a couple of weeks later it will be between Serpens and Hercules, on 22 December it will be in Hercules near the globular cluster M13. By 25 December it will be close to the Plough, and is circumpolar from UK and Ireland, meaning it will be in the sky all night long. On 26-27 December, ISON will be at its closest to Earth at 64 million km. At the end of December the comet is in Draco and will be visible in the North West by evening, in the morning sky before sunrise in east. The comet will be fading, but will hopefully be still naked eye visibility.
Comet ISON is brightening, and if you look up to the sky around dawn, you just may be able to see it without a telescope or binoculars. Unfortunately, the moon wills also getting brighter over the next few days as it grows fuller, and its light may interfere with your ability to see ISON. If you are willing to try anyway, Lisse said you should head away from the city lights to a place with a dark sky (somewhere like Joshua tree would be ideal) just a bit before dawn — around 5 or 5:30 a.m. local time and then look east.
The comet of the century has got a lot of people asking questions, due to our natural curiosity. This comet is something to be respected as it may never happen again. And if it does will you and your family be prepared for the worst?
Source: http://survivalcavefood.com/index.php/blog/comet_ison_close_encounter/
