Scientists had hoped for the Comet ISON's survival after it took on the sun's immense heat. Now they have officially declared that the Comet of the Century is dead.
Karl Battams , astrophysicist and computational scientist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) said at the American Geophysical Union annual conference, "At this point it seems like there's nothing left. So sorry, everyone, but comet ISON is dead. Its memory lives on."
The Comet ISON, hailed the "Comet of the Century," previously attracted a lot of attention from comet watchers and enthusiasts since it was discovered by Artyom Novichonok and Vitali Nevski in 2012.
Measuring two kilometers wide, ISON came as far as Neptune into the inner solar system and comet watchers had anticipated its survival as it passed by the sun. Scientists had also been waiting in suspense to see if the comet will survive or perish in this extremely dangerous feat. However, the comet didn't make it.
Scientists, including Battams have gone through series of images that tell of the destructive outcome of ISON's trip past the sun. The astronomers used very advanced tools to watch the comet's voyage however even these were unable to make out any nucleus – the icy core inherent in any comet – where ISON was expected to come out.
The scientists had noticed that even prior to its closest distance to the sun, ISON appeared it won't survive especially after when only comet particles were left.
Scientists were not at all shocked at the death of ISON since most of sun-grazing comets normally disintegrate when they get too close to the sun. Moreover, NASA came up with measurements that show the comet was not as large as they thought it was which explains why the comet did not last long amid the immense heat from the sun.
