Astronomers discovered a new comet, which could be the brightest comet in decades
Astronomers from NASA have discovered a new comet C/2012 S1, also known as comet ISON. According to researchers this could be the brightest comet seen in decades.
"Comet ISON has the potential to be among the brightest comets of the last 50 years, which gives us a rare opportunity to observe its changes in great detail and over an extended period," said Lead Investigator Dennis Bodewits, an astronomer at UMCP.
While the comet has the possibility to be one of the brightest ever recorder, astronomers continue to examine images from Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) to make initial estimates of the comet's water and dust production in order to infer the size of its icy nucleus. While recent data suggest the comet could dim slightly, it remains on track to light up the night sky.
"It looks promising, but that's all we can say for sure now," Matthew Knight, an astronomer at Lowell Observatory and a member of the Swift and CIOC teams, said in a statement on NASA's website. "Past comets have failed to live up to expectations once they reached the inner solar system, and only observations over the next few months will improve our knowledge of how ISON will perform."
The comet has been observed to be nearing the inner solar system, where it will have a close encounter with Mars before traveling close to the sun. In late February, NASA requested a team of comet experts to initiate the Comet ISON Observing Campaign (CIOC), part of an attempt to collect data on the comet.
The space agency has already noted that it expects ISON to be one of the brightest comets in decades as it quickly approaches its rendezvous with the sun.
