The Farmers’ Almanac, out on Monday, predicts a bitterly cold
winter for most of the U.S. in 2013-14. “Piercing cold” will sweep the
country. The Super Bowl, set for MetLife Stadium at the Meadowlands in
New Jersey on Feb. 2, could – if these predictions are true – turn out
to be the “Storm Bowl” of the century, reports FOX News on Aug. 26.The venerable Farmers’ Almanac publication is 197 years old, and it has an amazing track record for accuracy.
"We're using a very strong four-letter word to describe this winter, which is C-O-L-D. It's going to be very cold," reported managing editor Sandi Duncan. The almanac still uses the secret weather-prediction formula the publication’s founder, David Young, established in 1818, when he published the first Farmers’ Almanac, based in sunspots, lunar cycles, and the positions of various planets.
Modern weather reporting takes a very different approach, but any form of long-range forecasting has a hard time keeping up with the Farmers’ Almanac when it comes to offering trustworthy info for planning weddings, setting vacations, or deciding whether or not to invest in tickets to the Super Bowl. For the upcoming football 2014 game, a person might just decide to stay home and watch it on television – or catch the action from some sunny Caribbean resort.
Last year, the predictions seemed to be off at winter’s start, but then things shifted, and the expected cold weather for the eastern and central U.S. with milder temperatures west of the Great Lakes happened just as the almanac said they would.
Caleb Weatherbee, in charge of weather predictions, took pride in being only two days off on “two of the season's biggest storms: a February blizzard that paralyzed the Northeast with 3 feet of snow in some places and a sloppy storm the day before spring's arrival that buried parts of New England.” All the more reason to give Super Bowl XLVIII a pass.
"We're using a very strong four-letter word to describe this winter, which is C-O-L-D. It's going to be very cold," reported managing editor Sandi Duncan. The almanac still uses the secret weather-prediction formula the publication’s founder, David Young, established in 1818, when he published the first Farmers’ Almanac, based in sunspots, lunar cycles, and the positions of various planets.
Modern weather reporting takes a very different approach, but any form of long-range forecasting has a hard time keeping up with the Farmers’ Almanac when it comes to offering trustworthy info for planning weddings, setting vacations, or deciding whether or not to invest in tickets to the Super Bowl. For the upcoming football 2014 game, a person might just decide to stay home and watch it on television – or catch the action from some sunny Caribbean resort.
Last year, the predictions seemed to be off at winter’s start, but then things shifted, and the expected cold weather for the eastern and central U.S. with milder temperatures west of the Great Lakes happened just as the almanac said they would.
Caleb Weatherbee, in charge of weather predictions, took pride in being only two days off on “two of the season's biggest storms: a February blizzard that paralyzed the Northeast with 3 feet of snow in some places and a sloppy storm the day before spring's arrival that buried parts of New England.” All the more reason to give Super Bowl XLVIII a pass.
'Comet of the Century' Set to Fly By Mars Next Week |
The potentially dazzling Comet ISON was discovered exactly a year
this month, and now a fleet of spacecraft is gearing up to track the icy
wanderer during its close encounter with Mars next week.
Comet ISON was discovered by Russian amateur astronomers on Sept. 21, 2012 and has since been billed by scientists as a potential "comet of the century" if it survives an extremely close brush with the sun later this year.
Next Tuesday (Oct. 1), the Comet ISON will fly by Mars at a range of 6.5 million miles (10.4 million kilometers). The European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft should have a good view of the flyby. The orbiter began its observation campaign on Sept. 21. [Photos of Comet ISON: A Potentially Great Comet]
Over the next two weeks, Mars Express will snap photos and analyze the composition of the Comet ISON's brightening coma, the atmosphere that surrounds the comet's rock-and-ice nucleus, ESA officials said in a statement. The coma of a comet becomes more prominent as its surface ices are heated and vaporized, with the dusty debris being swept back into a tail.
(MORE: Dead Star Collisions formed Gold on Earth)
Meanwhile, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, another spacecraft exploring Mars, is set to track Comet ISON’s Mars flyby on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1 and 2. ISON may even be bright enough for NASA's Mars rover Curiosity to see it from the surface of the Red Planet as it whizzes by.
Comet ISON, officially known as C/2012 S1, was discovered on Sept. 21, 2012 by Russian amateur astronomers Artyom Novichonok and Vitali Nevski, who used a remotely operated telescope to detect the comet in the dim constellation of Cancer. On Nov. 28 of this year — Thanksgiving Day in the United States — ISON will skim just 730,000 miles (1.2 million km) or so above the sun's surface.
If the sun-grazing comet doesn't get ripped apart by extreme solar forces, some astronomers have said it could be the "comet of the century," possibly shining brightly enough to be seen during the daytime as it heads back into the outer reaches of the solar system. NASA scientists have warned that predictions of how bright Comet ISON will be are still uncertain, and that the comet could fizzle if it breaks apart.
(PHOTOS: The Beauty of America from Space)
When the comet whips around the sun, solar telescopes like the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint mission by NASA and ESA, will watch out for the celestial spectacle. The European-built Venus Express now orbiting Venus and Proba-2 in Earth orbit will also target the comet during November and December.
Since those spacecraft are designed to observe planets and not distant comets, ESA said it is not clear how their observations will turn out. But the comet has already yielded some amazing images captured by both amateur astronomers on the ground and sophisticated spacecraft like the Hubble Space Telescope, also operated by NASA and ESA.
Comet ISON was discovered by Russian amateur astronomers on Sept. 21, 2012 and has since been billed by scientists as a potential "comet of the century" if it survives an extremely close brush with the sun later this year.
Next Tuesday (Oct. 1), the Comet ISON will fly by Mars at a range of 6.5 million miles (10.4 million kilometers). The European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft should have a good view of the flyby. The orbiter began its observation campaign on Sept. 21. [Photos of Comet ISON: A Potentially Great Comet]
Over the next two weeks, Mars Express will snap photos and analyze the composition of the Comet ISON's brightening coma, the atmosphere that surrounds the comet's rock-and-ice nucleus, ESA officials said in a statement. The coma of a comet becomes more prominent as its surface ices are heated and vaporized, with the dusty debris being swept back into a tail.
(MORE: Dead Star Collisions formed Gold on Earth)
Meanwhile, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, another spacecraft exploring Mars, is set to track Comet ISON’s Mars flyby on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1 and 2. ISON may even be bright enough for NASA's Mars rover Curiosity to see it from the surface of the Red Planet as it whizzes by.
Comet ISON, officially known as C/2012 S1, was discovered on Sept. 21, 2012 by Russian amateur astronomers Artyom Novichonok and Vitali Nevski, who used a remotely operated telescope to detect the comet in the dim constellation of Cancer. On Nov. 28 of this year — Thanksgiving Day in the United States — ISON will skim just 730,000 miles (1.2 million km) or so above the sun's surface.
If the sun-grazing comet doesn't get ripped apart by extreme solar forces, some astronomers have said it could be the "comet of the century," possibly shining brightly enough to be seen during the daytime as it heads back into the outer reaches of the solar system. NASA scientists have warned that predictions of how bright Comet ISON will be are still uncertain, and that the comet could fizzle if it breaks apart.
(PHOTOS: The Beauty of America from Space)
When the comet whips around the sun, solar telescopes like the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint mission by NASA and ESA, will watch out for the celestial spectacle. The European-built Venus Express now orbiting Venus and Proba-2 in Earth orbit will also target the comet during November and December.
Since those spacecraft are designed to observe planets and not distant comets, ESA said it is not clear how their observations will turn out. But the comet has already yielded some amazing images captured by both amateur astronomers on the ground and sophisticated spacecraft like the Hubble Space Telescope, also operated by NASA and ESA.
- Comet ISON's Mars 'Buzz' - Orbiter and Rovers on Lookout | Video
- Comet Ison: Potential 'Comet Of The Century' News, Photos And Video
- Comet ISON Now In Amateur Astronomers' Range | Video
- Amazing Comet Photos of 2013 by Stargazers
MORE: Incredible Astronomy Photos
'Guiding Light to the Stars,' Overall Winner,
Earth and Space, Winner. The central regions of the Milky Way Galaxy,
26,000 light years away, appear as a tangle of dust and stars in the
central part of the image. Two even more distant objects, the Magellanic
Clouds, are visible as smudges of light in the upper left of the
picture. (Mark Gee, Australia)
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Read more at http://www.wunderground.com/news/comet-century-mars-20130925#SSOMp0aggw5d35h2.99
When
the comet whips around the sun, solar telescopes like the Solar and
Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint mission by NASA and ESA, will
watch out for the celestial spectacle. The European-built Venus Express
now orbiting Venus and Proba-2 in Earth orbit will also target the comet
during November and December.
Since those spacecraft are designed to observe planets and not distant comets, ESA said it is not clear how their observations will turn out. But the comet has already yielded some amazing images captured by both amateur astronomers on the ground and sophisticated spacecraft like the Hubble Space Telescope, also operated by NASA and ESA.
Read more at http://www.wunderground.com/news/comet-century-mars-20130925#SSOMp0aggw5d35h2.99
Since those spacecraft are designed to observe planets and not distant comets, ESA said it is not clear how their observations will turn out. But the comet has already yielded some amazing images captured by both amateur astronomers on the ground and sophisticated spacecraft like the Hubble Space Telescope, also operated by NASA and ESA.
- Comet ISON's Mars 'Buzz' - Orbiter and Rovers on Lookout | Video
- Comet Ison: Potential 'Comet Of The Century' News, Photos And Video
- Comet ISON Now In Amateur Astronomers' Range | Video
- Amazing Comet Photos of 2013 by Stargazers
MORE: Incredible Astronomy Photos
Read more at http://www.wunderground.com/news/comet-century-mars-20130925#SSOMp0aggw5d35h2.99
Why is the Ocean Blue?
When most of us think about the ocean, we think of deep blue water underneath white-capped waves crashing on the beach.
However, the oceans can be a number of different colors including brown, green, orange and even red. But what gives them their hue?
First of all, let’s bust the myth that the ocean is blue because the sky is reflecting off its surface. That's simply not true.
The color of the ocean is determined by the depth of the water, the
angle of the sun and the kind of impurities that are suspended in the
water.
If the water is purer and has fewer particles, the water will appear blue. The process behind the water appearing blue is very similar to that of the sky.
Think of a prism: The white sunlight enters a prism and a number of different colors come out the other side.
In this case, the sun hits the water molecules and other oceanic particles, such as sediment, and scattering of the blue light occurs. The other, longer-wavelength colors — red, orange, yellow and green — pass right through the water. That’s why our eyes perceive the water as blue.
Read more at http://www.wunderground.com/news/why-ocean-blue-20130917#tfbJryi5i1jF0oiT.99
When most of us think about the ocean, we think of deep blue water underneath white-capped waves crashing on the beach.
However, the oceans can be a number of different colors including brown, green, orange and even red. But what gives them their hue?
First of all, let’s bust the myth that the ocean is blue because the sky is reflecting off its surface. That's simply not true.
Alan Raymond
Blue Ocean
The water appears blue due to the Sun's visible light entering the ocean. As the light interacts the water, molecules scatter the blue light.If the water is purer and has fewer particles, the water will appear blue. The process behind the water appearing blue is very similar to that of the sky.
Think of a prism: The white sunlight enters a prism and a number of different colors come out the other side.
In this case, the sun hits the water molecules and other oceanic particles, such as sediment, and scattering of the blue light occurs. The other, longer-wavelength colors — red, orange, yellow and green — pass right through the water. That’s why our eyes perceive the water as blue.
Read more at http://www.wunderground.com/news/why-ocean-blue-20130917#tfbJryi5i1jF0oiT.99
The
potentially dazzling Comet ISON was discovered exactly a year this
month, and now a fleet of spacecraft is gearing up to track the icy
wanderer during its close encounter with Mars next week.
Comet ISON was discovered by Russian amateur astronomers on Sept. 21, 2012 and has since been billed by scientists as a potential "comet of the century" if it survives an extremely close brush with the sun later this year.
Next Tuesday (Oct. 1), the Comet ISON will fly by Mars at a range of 6.5 million miles (10.4 million kilometers). The European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft should have a good view of the flyby. The orbiter began its observation campaign on Sept. 21. [Photos of Comet ISON: A Potentially Great Comet]
Over the next two weeks, Mars Express will snap photos and analyze the composition of the Comet ISON's brightening coma, the atmosphere that surrounds the comet's rock-and-ice nucleus, ESA officials said in a statement. The coma of a comet becomes more prominent as its surface ices are heated and vaporized, with the dusty debris being swept back into a tail.
(MORE: Dead Star Collisions formed Gold on Earth)
Meanwhile, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, another spacecraft exploring Mars, is set to track Comet ISON’s Mars flyby on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1 and 2. ISON may even be bright enough for NASA's Mars rover Curiosity to see it from the surface of the Red Planet as it whizzes by.
Comet ISON, officially known as C/2012 S1, was discovered on Sept. 21, 2012 by Russian amateur astronomers Artyom Novichonok and Vitali Nevski, who used a remotely operated telescope to detect the comet in the dim constellation of Cancer. On Nov. 28 of this year — Thanksgiving Day in the United States — ISON will skim just 730,000 miles (1.2 million km) or so above the sun's surface.
If the sun-grazing comet doesn't get ripped apart by extreme solar forces, some astronomers have said it could be the "comet of the century," possibly shining brightly enough to be seen during the daytime as it heads back into the outer reaches of the solar system. NASA scientists have warned that predictions of how bright Comet ISON will be are still uncertain, and that the comet could fizzle if it breaks apart.
(PHOTOS: The Beauty of America from Space)
When the comet whips around the sun, solar telescopes like the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint mission by NASA and ESA, will watch out for the celestial spectacle. The European-built Venus Express now orbiting Venus and Proba-2 in Earth orbit will also target the comet during November and December.
Since those spacecraft are designed to observe planets and not distant comets, ESA said it is not clear how their observations will turn out. But the comet has already yielded some amazing images captured by both amateur astronomers on the ground and sophisticated spacecraft like the Hubble Space Telescope, also operated by NASA and ESA.
Read more at http://www.wunderground.com/news/comet-century-mars-20130925#SSOMp0aggw5d35h2.99
Comet ISON was discovered by Russian amateur astronomers on Sept. 21, 2012 and has since been billed by scientists as a potential "comet of the century" if it survives an extremely close brush with the sun later this year.
Next Tuesday (Oct. 1), the Comet ISON will fly by Mars at a range of 6.5 million miles (10.4 million kilometers). The European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft should have a good view of the flyby. The orbiter began its observation campaign on Sept. 21. [Photos of Comet ISON: A Potentially Great Comet]
Over the next two weeks, Mars Express will snap photos and analyze the composition of the Comet ISON's brightening coma, the atmosphere that surrounds the comet's rock-and-ice nucleus, ESA officials said in a statement. The coma of a comet becomes more prominent as its surface ices are heated and vaporized, with the dusty debris being swept back into a tail.
(MORE: Dead Star Collisions formed Gold on Earth)
Meanwhile, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, another spacecraft exploring Mars, is set to track Comet ISON’s Mars flyby on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1 and 2. ISON may even be bright enough for NASA's Mars rover Curiosity to see it from the surface of the Red Planet as it whizzes by.
Comet ISON, officially known as C/2012 S1, was discovered on Sept. 21, 2012 by Russian amateur astronomers Artyom Novichonok and Vitali Nevski, who used a remotely operated telescope to detect the comet in the dim constellation of Cancer. On Nov. 28 of this year — Thanksgiving Day in the United States — ISON will skim just 730,000 miles (1.2 million km) or so above the sun's surface.
If the sun-grazing comet doesn't get ripped apart by extreme solar forces, some astronomers have said it could be the "comet of the century," possibly shining brightly enough to be seen during the daytime as it heads back into the outer reaches of the solar system. NASA scientists have warned that predictions of how bright Comet ISON will be are still uncertain, and that the comet could fizzle if it breaks apart.
(PHOTOS: The Beauty of America from Space)
When the comet whips around the sun, solar telescopes like the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint mission by NASA and ESA, will watch out for the celestial spectacle. The European-built Venus Express now orbiting Venus and Proba-2 in Earth orbit will also target the comet during November and December.
Since those spacecraft are designed to observe planets and not distant comets, ESA said it is not clear how their observations will turn out. But the comet has already yielded some amazing images captured by both amateur astronomers on the ground and sophisticated spacecraft like the Hubble Space Telescope, also operated by NASA and ESA.
- Comet ISON's Mars 'Buzz' - Orbiter and Rovers on Lookout | Video
- Comet Ison: Potential 'Comet Of The Century' News, Photos And Video
- Comet ISON Now In Amateur Astronomers' Range | Video
- Amazing Comet Photos of 2013 by Stargazers
MORE: Incredible Astronomy Photos
'Guiding Light to the Stars,' Overall Winner,
Earth and Space, Winner. The central regions of the Milky Way Galaxy,
26,000 light years away, appear as a tangle of dust and stars in the
central part of the image. Two even more distant objects, the Magellanic
Clouds, are visible as smudges of light in the upper left of the
picture. (Mark Gee, Australia)
Read more at http://www.wunderground.com/news/comet-century-mars-20130925#SSOMp0aggw5d35h2.99
The
potentially dazzling Comet ISON was discovered exactly a year this
month, and now a fleet of spacecraft is gearing up to track the icy
wanderer during its close encounter with Mars next week.
Comet ISON was discovered by Russian amateur astronomers on Sept. 21, 2012 and has since been billed by scientists as a potential "comet of the century" if it survives an extremely close brush with the sun later this year.
Next Tuesday (Oct. 1), the Comet ISON will fly by Mars at a range of 6.5 million miles (10.4 million kilometers). The European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft should have a good view of the flyby. The orbiter began its observation campaign on Sept. 21. [Photos of Comet ISON: A Potentially Great Comet]
Over the next two weeks, Mars Express will snap photos and analyze the composition of the Comet ISON's brightening coma, the atmosphere that surrounds the comet's rock-and-ice nucleus, ESA officials said in a statement. The coma of a comet becomes more prominent as its surface ices are heated and vaporized, with the dusty debris being swept back into a tail.
(MORE: Dead Star Collisions formed Gold on Earth)
Meanwhile, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, another spacecraft exploring Mars, is set to track Comet ISON’s Mars flyby on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1 and 2. ISON may even be bright enough for NASA's Mars rover Curiosity to see it from the surface of the Red Planet as it whizzes by.
Comet ISON, officially known as C/2012 S1, was discovered on Sept. 21, 2012 by Russian amateur astronomers Artyom Novichonok and Vitali Nevski, who used a remotely operated telescope to detect the comet in the dim constellation of Cancer. On Nov. 28 of this year — Thanksgiving Day in the United States — ISON will skim just 730,000 miles (1.2 million km) or so above the sun's surface.
If the sun-grazing comet doesn't get ripped apart by extreme solar forces, some astronomers have said it could be the "comet of the century," possibly shining brightly enough to be seen during the daytime as it heads back into the outer reaches of the solar system. NASA scientists have warned that predictions of how bright Comet ISON will be are still uncertain, and that the comet could fizzle if it breaks apart.
(PHOTOS: The Beauty of America from Space)
When the comet whips around the sun, solar telescopes like the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint mission by NASA and ESA, will watch out for the celestial spectacle. The European-built Venus Express now orbiting Venus and Proba-2 in Earth orbit will also target the comet during November and December.
Since those spacecraft are designed to observe planets and not distant comets, ESA said it is not clear how their observations will turn out. But the comet has already yielded some amazing images captured by both amateur astronomers on the ground and sophisticated spacecraft like the Hubble Space Telescope, also operated by NASA and ESA.
Read more at http://www.wunderground.com/news/comet-century-mars-20130925#SSOMp0aggw5d35h2.99
Comet ISON was discovered by Russian amateur astronomers on Sept. 21, 2012 and has since been billed by scientists as a potential "comet of the century" if it survives an extremely close brush with the sun later this year.
Next Tuesday (Oct. 1), the Comet ISON will fly by Mars at a range of 6.5 million miles (10.4 million kilometers). The European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft should have a good view of the flyby. The orbiter began its observation campaign on Sept. 21. [Photos of Comet ISON: A Potentially Great Comet]
Over the next two weeks, Mars Express will snap photos and analyze the composition of the Comet ISON's brightening coma, the atmosphere that surrounds the comet's rock-and-ice nucleus, ESA officials said in a statement. The coma of a comet becomes more prominent as its surface ices are heated and vaporized, with the dusty debris being swept back into a tail.
(MORE: Dead Star Collisions formed Gold on Earth)
Meanwhile, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, another spacecraft exploring Mars, is set to track Comet ISON’s Mars flyby on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1 and 2. ISON may even be bright enough for NASA's Mars rover Curiosity to see it from the surface of the Red Planet as it whizzes by.
Comet ISON, officially known as C/2012 S1, was discovered on Sept. 21, 2012 by Russian amateur astronomers Artyom Novichonok and Vitali Nevski, who used a remotely operated telescope to detect the comet in the dim constellation of Cancer. On Nov. 28 of this year — Thanksgiving Day in the United States — ISON will skim just 730,000 miles (1.2 million km) or so above the sun's surface.
If the sun-grazing comet doesn't get ripped apart by extreme solar forces, some astronomers have said it could be the "comet of the century," possibly shining brightly enough to be seen during the daytime as it heads back into the outer reaches of the solar system. NASA scientists have warned that predictions of how bright Comet ISON will be are still uncertain, and that the comet could fizzle if it breaks apart.
(PHOTOS: The Beauty of America from Space)
When the comet whips around the sun, solar telescopes like the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint mission by NASA and ESA, will watch out for the celestial spectacle. The European-built Venus Express now orbiting Venus and Proba-2 in Earth orbit will also target the comet during November and December.
Since those spacecraft are designed to observe planets and not distant comets, ESA said it is not clear how their observations will turn out. But the comet has already yielded some amazing images captured by both amateur astronomers on the ground and sophisticated spacecraft like the Hubble Space Telescope, also operated by NASA and ESA.
- Comet ISON's Mars 'Buzz' - Orbiter and Rovers on Lookout | Video
- Comet Ison: Potential 'Comet Of The Century' News, Photos And Video
- Comet ISON Now In Amateur Astronomers' Range | Video
- Amazing Comet Photos of 2013 by Stargazers
MORE: Incredible Astronomy Photos
'Guiding Light to the Stars,' Overall Winner,
Earth and Space, Winner. The central regions of the Milky Way Galaxy,
26,000 light years away, appear as a tangle of dust and stars in the
central part of the image. Two even more distant objects, the Magellanic
Clouds, are visible as smudges of light in the upper left of the
picture. (Mark Gee, Australia)
Read more at http://www.wunderground.com/news/comet-century-mars-20130925#SSOMp0aggw5d35h2.99
The
potentially dazzling Comet ISON was discovered exactly a year this
month, and now a fleet of spacecraft is gearing up to track the icy
wanderer during its close encounter with Mars next week.
Comet ISON was discovered by Russian amateur astronomers on Sept. 21, 2012 and has since been billed by scientists as a potential "comet of the century" if it survives an extremely close brush with the sun later this year.
Next Tuesday (Oct. 1), the Comet ISON will fly by Mars at a range of 6.5 million miles (10.4 million kilometers). The European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft should have a good view of the flyby. The orbiter began its observation campaign on Sept. 21. [Photos of Comet ISON: A Potentially Great Comet]
Over the next two weeks, Mars Express will snap photos and analyze the composition of the Comet ISON's brightening coma, the atmosphere that surrounds the comet's rock-and-ice nucleus, ESA officials said in a statement. The coma of a comet becomes more prominent as its surface ices are heated and vaporized, with the dusty debris being swept back into a tail.
(MORE: Dead Star Collisions formed Gold on Earth)
Meanwhile, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, another spacecraft exploring Mars, is set to track Comet ISON’s Mars flyby on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1 and 2. ISON may even be bright enough for NASA's Mars rover Curiosity to see it from the surface of the Red Planet as it whizzes by.
Comet ISON, officially known as C/2012 S1, was discovered on Sept. 21, 2012 by Russian amateur astronomers Artyom Novichonok and Vitali Nevski, who used a remotely operated telescope to detect the comet in the dim constellation of Cancer. On Nov. 28 of this year — Thanksgiving Day in the United States — ISON will skim just 730,000 miles (1.2 million km) or so above the sun's surface.
If the sun-grazing comet doesn't get ripped apart by extreme solar forces, some astronomers have said it could be the "comet of the century," possibly shining brightly enough to be seen during the daytime as it heads back into the outer reaches of the solar system. NASA scientists have warned that predictions of how bright Comet ISON will be are still uncertain, and that the comet could fizzle if it breaks apart.
(PHOTOS: The Beauty of America from Space)
When the comet whips around the sun, solar telescopes like the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint mission by NASA and ESA, will watch out for the celestial spectacle. The European-built Venus Express now orbiting Venus and Proba-2 in Earth orbit will also target the comet during November and December.
Since those spacecraft are designed to observe planets and not distant comets, ESA said it is not clear how their observations will turn out. But the comet has already yielded some amazing images captured by both amateur astronomers on the ground and sophisticated spacecraft like the Hubble Space Telescope, also operated by NASA and ESA.
Read more at http://www.wunderground.com/news/comet-century-mars-20130925#SSOMp0aggw5d35h2.99
Comet ISON was discovered by Russian amateur astronomers on Sept. 21, 2012 and has since been billed by scientists as a potential "comet of the century" if it survives an extremely close brush with the sun later this year.
Next Tuesday (Oct. 1), the Comet ISON will fly by Mars at a range of 6.5 million miles (10.4 million kilometers). The European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft should have a good view of the flyby. The orbiter began its observation campaign on Sept. 21. [Photos of Comet ISON: A Potentially Great Comet]
Over the next two weeks, Mars Express will snap photos and analyze the composition of the Comet ISON's brightening coma, the atmosphere that surrounds the comet's rock-and-ice nucleus, ESA officials said in a statement. The coma of a comet becomes more prominent as its surface ices are heated and vaporized, with the dusty debris being swept back into a tail.
(MORE: Dead Star Collisions formed Gold on Earth)
Meanwhile, NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, another spacecraft exploring Mars, is set to track Comet ISON’s Mars flyby on Sept. 29 and Oct. 1 and 2. ISON may even be bright enough for NASA's Mars rover Curiosity to see it from the surface of the Red Planet as it whizzes by.
Comet ISON, officially known as C/2012 S1, was discovered on Sept. 21, 2012 by Russian amateur astronomers Artyom Novichonok and Vitali Nevski, who used a remotely operated telescope to detect the comet in the dim constellation of Cancer. On Nov. 28 of this year — Thanksgiving Day in the United States — ISON will skim just 730,000 miles (1.2 million km) or so above the sun's surface.
If the sun-grazing comet doesn't get ripped apart by extreme solar forces, some astronomers have said it could be the "comet of the century," possibly shining brightly enough to be seen during the daytime as it heads back into the outer reaches of the solar system. NASA scientists have warned that predictions of how bright Comet ISON will be are still uncertain, and that the comet could fizzle if it breaks apart.
(PHOTOS: The Beauty of America from Space)
When the comet whips around the sun, solar telescopes like the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint mission by NASA and ESA, will watch out for the celestial spectacle. The European-built Venus Express now orbiting Venus and Proba-2 in Earth orbit will also target the comet during November and December.
Since those spacecraft are designed to observe planets and not distant comets, ESA said it is not clear how their observations will turn out. But the comet has already yielded some amazing images captured by both amateur astronomers on the ground and sophisticated spacecraft like the Hubble Space Telescope, also operated by NASA and ESA.
- Comet ISON's Mars 'Buzz' - Orbiter and Rovers on Lookout | Video
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MORE: Incredible Astronomy Photos
'Guiding Light to the Stars,' Overall Winner,
Earth and Space, Winner. The central regions of the Milky Way Galaxy,
26,000 light years away, appear as a tangle of dust and stars in the
central part of the image. Two even more distant objects, the Magellanic
Clouds, are visible as smudges of light in the upper left of the
picture. (Mark Gee, Australia)
Read more at http://www.wunderground.com/news/comet-century-mars-20130925#SSOMp0aggw5d35h2.99
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