Astronomers tracking what they hoped would be the “comet of the Century” believe it has flown too close to the sun and broken up.
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Comet Ison Has Not Reappeared After Swinging Around The Sun
Astronomers tracking what they hoped would be the “comet of the Century” believe it has flown too close to the sun and broken up.
Comet Ison, which had been hurtling through space at speeds of 845,000mph, was due to pass within 730,000 miles of the surface of the star at 6:37pm UK time.
It was expected to be met with temperatures of about 2,700°C (4,892°F) and an intense gravitational pull as it prepared for its solar slingshot.
What scientists saw was a long trail of particles suggesting that the comet has broken up.
From Spaceweather.com:
COMET ISON–UPDATE: New images from SOHO show something emerging from behind the sun. It could be a small fragment of Comet ISON’s nucleus or perhaps a “headless comet”–a stream of debris marking the remains of the comet’s disintegrated core. Watch the movie and stay tuned for updates.
COMET ISON, R.I.P? Evidence is mounting that comet ISON did not survive its brush with the sun earlier today. At 01:45 EST on Nov. 28th, Thanksgiving Day in the USA, the comet was supposed to pass a little more than a million miles above the surface of the sun. As a new movie from SOHO shows, the comet had already disintegrated. Click to set the scene in motion, and pay careful attention to the head of the comet:
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Contributed by Chris Carrington of The Daily Sheeple.
Chris Carrington is a writer, researcher and lecturer with a background in science, technology and environmental studies. Chris is an editor for The Daily Sheeple. Wake the flock up!
