Comet Coming Next Year May Be Brighter Than the Moon

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Astronomers working at the International Scientific Optical Network in Russia have discovered a comet that is headed our way; one that many believe will be the brightest ever seen in modern times. Dubbed ISON (an acronym for the site in Russia), the comet was first found on September 25th, Discovery says  leading researchers to scour other images taken over the past couple of years to see if they could find it to help map it's trajectory.

                                                 Comet ISON

That led, Mail Online reports to several sightings and clearer picture of where it's coming from and where it's heading. At present, the researchers say, comet ISON appears headed on a course that will bring it to within 60 million kilometers of Earth but more importantly just 1.8 million kilometers from the sun, which is what causes the tail to shine so brightly. 


What makes the finding so exciting though, says Discovery is that most who have seen the data believe that the comet will be really bright; brighter in fact than any other seen in modern times. So bright it will appear brighter than the moon at night and bright enough to be seen even during the day. If that does happen, it will most certainly be a momentous occasion, one that will likely result in an enormous amount of media coverage, social network chatter and maybe even parties celebrating the once in a million year event.

Making all that even more likely is a prediction by the original research team that the comet will be lighting up the sky for up to two weeks, and if all that isn't enough, it's expected to arrive in late November to early December, bringing it very close to the holiday season, possibly inspiring comparisons between it and the Star of Bethlehem that the New Testament says, led the three wise men to the birth of Jesus.



The researchers believe the comet originated from a part of space known as the oort cloud, which is basically a mass of icy debris left over from impacts between planets and asteroids millions of years ago. If correct, it would mean the trajectory of the comet, if it survives its close call with the sun, wouldn't bring it around again for more than a hundred million years, which in human teams, pretty much means forever, so those of us that get to see it, will likely be the only ones ever to do so, even more reason to celebrate.






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