ISON News

CANCEL THE EULOGY ... FOR NOW: Comet ISON flew through the sun's atmosphere on Nov. 28th and the encounter did not go well for the icy comet. Just before perihelion (closest approach to the sun) the comet rapidly faded and appeared to disintegrate. This prompted reports of ISON's demise. However, a fraction of the comet might have survived. Click on the image below to see what emerged from Comet ISON's brush with solar fire:

In the movie, Comet ISON seems to be falling apart as it approaches the sun. Indeed, researchers working with NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory said they saw nothing along the track that ISON was expected to follow through the sun's atmosphere. Nevertheless, something has emerged. Whether this is a small scorched fragment of Comet ISON's nucleus or perhaps a "headless comet"--a stream of debris marking the remains of the comet's disintegrated core--remains to be seen.

An earlier movie from SOHO shows more of the comet's approach:

The movie spans a day and a half period from Nov. 27th (01:41 UT) to 28th (15:22 UT). We see that Comet ISON brightened dramatically on Nov. 27th before fading on Nov. 28th. That brightening might have been a disintegration event, in which the comet cracked open and spilled its vaporizing contents into space.

In summary, we still don't know for sure what has happened to Comet ISON. Stay tuned for updates as more data arrive from NASA's fleet of solar observatories. Solar flare alerts: text, voice

Source:

http://www.spaceweather.com/