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JaBBa
24-11-2013, 16:27
This photo was taken from Teide Observatory (IAC) in Tenerife, Canary Islands. The comet is on the distant island of Gran Canaria, while in the central cloud appears the planet Mercury. The comet is at the limit of naked eye visibility and in the photos appears with a long tail.

The photo was obtained by simple means: a SLR camera with a small telephoto lens (85 mm focal length) on a static tripod and 6 seconds of exposure.


http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/7075/9e6b.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/197/9e6b.jpg/)

Malteser Monkey
24-11-2013, 16:55
That is amazing ! thanks

symonsj
25-11-2013, 14:41
Great picture.
It will be busy there at night, I guess.
We will go up and have look early december... If I can stay awake :dontknow:.

AL JAY
28-11-2013, 21:49
I was looking forward to witnessing Comet Ison but according to Internet reports it has disintegrated


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25143861

JaBBa
29-11-2013, 00:12
Nope don't look good for it.....

- - - - - - - - - - merged double post - - - - - - - - - -



http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xtEb376ARsI

junglejim
29-11-2013, 07:49
Suggestions are , this morning, that it may have partially survived - weŽll have to wait and see !!

JaBBa
29-11-2013, 08:36
Comet Ison, or some part of it, may have survived its encounter with the Sun, say scientists.

The giant ball of ice and dust was initially declared dead when it failed to re-emerge from behind the star with the expected brightness.

All that could be seen was a dull smudge in telescope images - its nucleus and tail assumed destroyed.

But recent pictures have indicated a brightening of what may be a small fragment of the comet.

Astronomers admit to being surprised and delighted, but now caution that anything could happen in the coming hours and days.

This remnant of Ison could continue to brighten, or it could simply fizzle out altogether.

Karl Banttam wrote on the Nasa Comet Ison Observing Campaign blog: "It does appear that a least some small fraction of Ison has remained in one piece and is actively releasing material.

"We have no idea how big this nucleus is, if there is indeed one. If there is a nucleus, it is still too soon to tell how long it will survive.

"If it does survive for more than a few days, it is too soon to tell if the comet will be visible in the night sky."

The European Space Agency, too, which had been among the first organisations to call the death of Ison, has had to re-assess the situation. A small part of the nucleus may be intact, its experts say.

How much of the once 2km-wide hunk of dirty ice could have survived is impossible to say.

Passing just 1.2 million km above the surface of the Sun would have severely disrupted Ison. Its ices would have vaporized rapidly in temperatures over 2,000C. And the immense gravity of the star would also have pulled and squeezed on the object as it tumbled end over end.

Whatever happens next, comets are going to be a big feature in the news over the next year.

In 11 months' time, Comet Siding Spring will breeze past Mars at a distance of little more than 100,000km. And then in November 2014, the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission will attempt to place a probe on the nucleus of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.