Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) - bright in late 2013

[starfinder]

Jiahao has drawn my attention to a newly discovered comet, C/2012 S1 (ISON), the preliminary estimates for which are for it to be very bright late next year.

Perihelion for this comet would be on 28 Nov 2013. It would be just 1.9 million km from the Sun then.

The discovery was announced by CBAT (IAU) just yesterday, 24 Sept 2012.

See:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/come ... sage/19829

http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/mpec/K12/K12S63.html

I've updated my SkySafari Plus app with the latest cometary data. It shows that this comet would be quite well placed for Singapore in the pre-dawn eastern skies from early Oct 2013 to around 22 Nov 2013 (6 days before perihelion). From several days after perihelion, it would be mainly visible from northern latitudes.

[jiahao1986]

Hey Gavin,

You are fast, thanks for posting this up. Below is the ephemerides based on the most updated data. Note it can reach beyond mag -10! If it does hold up to the prediction, we would have a big show to watch!

Date R.A. (J2000) Decl. Delta r El. Ph. m1
2013 11 10 12 08 03.9 -01 01 00 1.003 0.768 45.3 66.5 4.9
2013 11 18 13 24 14.0 -10 43 12 0.871 0.528 32.2 86.2 2.9
2013 11 21 14 01 42.1 -14 51 28 0.856 0.423 25.3 95.1 1.9
2013 11 22 14 15 23.6 -16 13 08 0.856 0.386 22.7 98.2 1.5
2013 11 23 14 29 42.5 -17 32 40 0.860 0.346 20.1 101.2 1.1
2013 11 24 14 44 40.4 -18 48 53 0.868 0.304 17.4 104.1 0.5
2013 11 25 15 00 21.0 -20 00 30 0.880 0.260 14.6 106.9 -0.1
2013 11 26 15 16 52.8 -21 05 50 0.898 0.211 11.6 109.2 -1.0
2013 11 27 15 34 37.4 -22 02 15 0.922 0.156 8.5 110.4 -2.3
2013 11 28 15 54 44.1 -22 42 33 0.955 0.090 5.0 107.8 -4.6
2013 11 29 16 23 20.6 -20 31 20 0.985 0.022 1.3 93.0 -10.6
2013 11 30 16 22 02.5 -16 36 54 0.917 0.108 5.0 127.2 -3.9
2013 12 01 16 19 50.9 -14 12 38 0.872 0.170 7.8 128.2 -2.0
2013 12 02 16 18 02.1 -12 08 28 0.834 0.223 10.4 127.5 -0.9
2013 12 03 16 16 32.0 -10 12 48 0.801 0.271 12.8 126.3 -0.2
2013 12 06 16 13 22.7 -04 40 04 0.716 0.395 19.9 122.2 1.2
2013 12 07 16 12 40.2 -02 48 06 0.692 0.433 22.2 120.7 1.6
2013 12 08 16 12 06.2 -00 53 51 0.668 0.468 24.5 119.1 1.8
2013 12 09 16 11 39.8 +01 03 27 0.646 0.503 26.9 117.5 2.1
2013 12 20 16 13 50.5 +28 33 54 0.467 0.829 57.1 94.7 3.5
2013 12 21 16 14 41.8 +31 45 29 0.457 0.855 60.3 92.1 3.6

[jiahao1986]

The attachment shows the comet's visibility for Singapore from Nov 1 to Jan 1. For both pre and post perihelion legs the comet is visible in Singapore morning sky.

The pre-perihelion stage offers better viewing condition, however, the post-perihelion stage will be a challenge due to low altitude. More northerner locations between 30 to 50 degrees in latitudes offer much better conditions. Since such sun-grazing comets are likely to develop fantastically wide/long tails after perihelion, do get yourselves ready to travel up north for better weather and viewing prospects : )

Note: The chart is plotted based on Singapore local time each day before nautical twilight kicks in.

[Gary]

Good stuff! The media is catching on to the Comet ISON hype:

https://www.google.com/news?ncl=dGbs3XL ... lish&hl=en

[starfinder]

That visibility graph is very useful, Jiahao! I didn't know such a feature exists.

Let's hope this comet lives up to expectations, and all the hype! The Great Comet of 2013.

Below is a celestial chart which I've generated today with The Sky6 software. It shows the daily positions of Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) for 1 year from 1 May 2013 till end April 2014, with date lables for every 15 days. Hope you guys like the layout and graphics!
(Note: If anyone can't see the full chart on your browser, you could try downloading the image and then displaying it with an image display app/software; it's a JPEG file of only around 260Kb.)

[SillyYun]

A comet blazing toward Earth could outshine the full moon when it passes by at the end of next year - if it survives its close encounter with the sun.

The recently discovered object, known as comet ISON, is due to fly within 1.2 million miles (1.9 million km) from the center of the sun on Nov. 28, 2013 said astronomer Donald Yeomans, head of NASA’s Near Earth Object Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

As the comet approaches, heat from the sun will vaporize ices in its body, creating what could be a spectacular tail that is visible in Earth’s night sky without telescopes or even binoculars from about October 2013 through January 2014.

If the comet survives, that is.

Comet ISON could break apart as it nears the sun, or it could fail to produce a tail of ice particles visible from Earth.

Celestial visitors like Comet ISON hail from the Oort Cloud, a cluster of frozen rocks and ices that circle the sun about 50,000 times farther away than Earth’s orbit. Every so often, one will be gravitationally bumped out from the cloud and begin a long solo orbit around the sun.

On Sept. 21, two amateur astronomers from Russia spotted what appeared to be a comet in images taken by a 16-inch (0.4-meter) telescope that is part of the worldwide International Scientific Optical Network, or ISON, from which the object draws its name.

“The object was slow and had a unique movement. But we could not be certain that it was a comet because the scale of our images are quite small and the object was very compact,”astronomer Artyom Novichonok, one of the discoverers, wrote in a comets email list hosted by Yahoo.

Novichonok and co-discoverer Vitali Nevski followed up the next night with a bigger telescope at the Maidanak Observatory in Uzbekistan. Other astronomers did likewise, confirming the object, located beyond Jupiter’s orbit in the constellation Cancer, was indeed a comet.

“It’s really rare, exciting,” Novichonok wrote.

Comet ISON’s path is very similar to a comet that passed by Earth in 1680, one which was so bright its tail reportedly could be seen in daylight.

The projected orbit of comet ISON is so similar to the 1680 comet that some scientists are wondering if they are fragments from a common parent body.

“Comet ISONcould be the brightest comet seen in many generations – brighter even than the full moon,” wrote British astronomer David Whitehouse in The Independent.

In 2013, Earth has two shots at a comet show. Comet Pan-STARRS is due to pass by the planet in March, eight months before ISON’s arrival.

NASA’s Mars Curiosity rover may be able to provide a preview.

Comet ISON is due to pass by the red planet in September and could be a target for the rover from its vantage point inside Gale Crater.

The last comet to dazzle Earth’s night-time skies was Comet Hale-Bopp, which visited in 1997. Comet 17P/Holmes made a brief appearance in 2007.

Link: http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BN ... 92283.html

[SillyYun]

someone should plan an outing if its visible from our land!!!

[Airconvent]

And if its true, then people like us who missed Hale Bopp and was cheated of Mc Naught by Singapore's clouds will have another chance for the view of the century!
Waiting for Gavin "Messier" Starfinder to add this to his "watch list".
Maybe he needs to change his nick to "comet-finder".

http://www.space.com/19188-comet-ison-b ... -2013.html

[starfinder]

Hi SillyYun,

A thread had previously been started on Comet Ison, with info on visibility times and conditions added. Do check it out:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=11423

[Airconvent]

Thanks Gavin. Topics merged and title updated..