Comet ISON fate unclear after perihelion passage
Posted: Fri, Nov 29, 2013, 10:03 AM ET (1503 GMT)
At least part of Comet ISON may have survived a close flyby of the Sun on Thursday after astronomers initially thought the comet was completely vaporized during the passage. The comet passed about 1.2 million kilometers from the Sun at 1:37 pm EST (1837 GMT) Thursday, and images taken by NASA's SDO spacecraft failed to detect the comet immediately before or after that closest approach. While astronomers speculated at the time that ISON may have been destroyed during the flyby, the comet reappeared later Thursday in images taken by the SOHO and STEREO spacecraft, indicating that parts of the comet, or debris from it, survived. Further observations are required to determine how much of the comet survived and how visible it will be as it recedes from the Sun.
At least part of Comet ISON may have survived a close flyby of the Sun on Thursday after astronomers initially thought the comet was completely vaporized during the passage. The comet passed about 1.2 million kilometers from the Sun at 1:37 pm EST (1837 GMT) Thursday, and images taken by NASA's SDO spacecraft failed to detect the comet immediately before or after that closest approach. While astronomers speculated at the time that ISON may have been destroyed during the flyby, the comet reappeared later Thursday in images taken by the SOHO and STEREO spacecraft, indicating that parts of the comet, or debris from it, survived. Further observations are required to determine how much of the comet survived and how visible it will be as it recedes from the Sun.
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