Comet ISON was discovered in September 2012 by Russian astronomers Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok. They are part of a night sky survey program called the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON). The comet was named after this program. Comet ISON will encounter the Sun on November 28, 2013.
Outer Space is full of potentially dangerous objects – objects such as asteroids, comets, meteoroids, and even man-made satellites that pose a risk to our planet. While the vast majority of such objects are not on a path to collide with our own planet, some occasionally are. Without the protection offered by our atmosphere, meteors, comets, and other such space debris would crash into the Earth’s surface, potentially causing significant damage. So – how exactly does our atmosphere protect us?
Scientists are anticipating a large meteor outburst this month. On October 8, 2011 Earth will pass through the dust trail of the Comet 21P/Giacobini-Zinner which is the cause of the outburst. Meteor Watchers in the Middle East, parts of Europe and northern Africa will be best positioned for this potentially big show!
I don’t know about you, but until recently, I’ve never really thought about the shape of a comet. I’m not talking about the overall shape, with the bright coma and long, beautiful tail. No, I’m talking about the nucleus – the center or core of a comet.
Scientists generally agree today that comets were formed at the same time that our solar system was formed – about 4.6 billion years ago. At that time, the solar system was an enormous spinning disk of dust and gas called the Solar Nebula. Over time, gravitational attraction caused the dust and gas in the center to form our Sun and other areas consolidated into clumps of matter called planetesimals. Planetesimals were about one kilometer across.