We still do not know
how much but it appears we can count on a mass of debris at least and
presumably a large dust cloud unless the magnetic field somehow stripped it all
away. However that is not the pattern for
comets unless close in is a limiting factor.
We still got an
intriguing show going in with a lot to think about.
Now we will see what
the aftermath can produce for show and tell.
UPDATE: Comet ISON
lives!
By Nicole Mortillaro Global News
##
Video:
Timelapse shows Comet ISON may have survived orbit around sun
TORONTO – It’s been one heck of a roller coaster ride.
TORONTO – It’s been one heck of a roller coaster ride.
As
astronomers, both professional and amateur, tuned in to astronomy sites and
blogs around the world on Thursday, it looked like the sun had killed Comet
ISON.
However,
much to the surprise of astronomers on Thursday — including those at NASA — around 4 p.m.,
EST images from NASA’s Solar
and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) showed that something had
survived the trip.
ISON,
discovered in September 2012, had been touted as becoming the “comet of the
century,” when it was calculated that it would pass very close to the sun,
possibly creating a brilliant tail.
However,
as it headed towards the sun, ISON wasn’t as brilliant as astronomers had
hoped.
##
VIDEO:
Comet ISON comes out the other side
Though
significantly dimmer and a lot less organized than the comet looked going
towards the sun, it had become evident that part of the comet has remained
intact.
###
VIDEO:
Global’s Jennifer Palisoc reports on ISON’s trip around the sun
There was the possibility, of course, that ISON is just was just its death throes.
There was the possibility, of course, that ISON is just was just its death throes.
Initially
there was some speculation that what had come out the other side was just dust
from the comet being torn apart. But as the hours passed, it became
increasingly evident that what remained — though much smaller — was more than
just dust.
Images
and video clearly showed that some part of ISON remained and had brightened
since its emergence.
As
a comet passes through our solar system, the sun’s heat and solar wind causes
frozen material to turn into gases in a process called sublimation, creating
the tails of comets that we see.
The
closer a comet gets to the sun, the more heat, thus more sublimation.
ISON’s
tail stretched almost 8 million kilometres into space as it made its closest
approach on Thursday.
But
sun-grazing comets such as ISON run the risk of being torn apart by the sun’s
intense gravity.
And
that’s just what astronomers had thought had happened.
As
ISON made its closest approach at 1:45 p.m. EST, it had lost its nucleus, or
core. Many surmised that this signalled the end of the comet. Hope of its
survival dwindled.
New
images of ISON don’t show a distinctive nucleus, so it’s likely that it is
merely a fragment of the two-kilometre wide comet that had approached the sun.
Astronomers
around the world will continue to monitor the progress of ISON to see if it
regains its brightness, though it’s likely that it will become dimmer or just
fade from view entirely.
But
if it continues to brighten, it will be visible in the early morning hours near
the horizon within the next couple of days.
Stay
tuned. Who knows what surprises await us with this mysterious and persistent
comet.
© Shaw
Medi
No comments:
Post a Comment