TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Brightest comet comes calling the sun
People will be able to observe an astronomical phenomenon when Comet ISON, considered one of the brightest comets to visit Earth, reaches the point in orbit when it is closest to the Sun, or perihelion, this weekend
Change Size
P
eople will be able to observe an astronomical phenomenon when Comet ISON, considered one of the brightest comets to visit Earth, reaches the point in orbit when it is closest to the Sun, or perihelion, this weekend.
'The best time to observe Comet ISON is on Friday and Saturday because it will be at its closest to the Sun,' Muhammad Yusuf, a researcher for computation and development of robotic telescope at Bandung Institute of Technology's Bosscha Observatorium, said in Lembang on Tuesday.
However, he added that the comet would still be visible in December and January.
A comet is an icy solar system body that consists of materials, such as cosmic dust and frozen gas. Each comet usually circles a star, such as the Sun, on an elongated elliptical orbit.
Yusuf said Comet ISON, also known as C/2012 S1 or Comet Nevski-Novichonok, originated from the Oort cloud, a remnant of the Solar System's creation, at a distance of 50,000 to 100,000 astronomical units (au).
One au is defined as the average distance between the Sun and the Earth at about 149.59 million kilometers.
Yusuf also said that Comet ISON was unique compared to other comets as it was among the brightest ones.
'It is predicted to be the brightest [comet] in the last 50 years,' he said.
He said that astronomers set a benchmark for sunlight with a magnitude of minus 27.
'Comet ISON is at a magnitude of minus 6 while the Moon is about minus 9,' he said.
Although moving very fast at up to 50,000 miles (80,460 km) per hour, Yusuf said the comet would be clearly visible in the eastern sky.
'If the weather is clear, look to the east or where the Sun rises starting from about 4:30 a.m. The comet will be seen around Saturn or the red dot in the east,' he said.
Yusuf managed to take a picture of the comet on Friday at about 4:30 a.m. using a robotic telescope. The picture is clear enough and shows a single tail.
'There are now two tails, similar to a snake's tongue. Analysis by astronomers abroad said that there was already a fracture in the comet resulting in the two tails,' he said.
The fragmented core happens as the comet comes closer to perihelion, its closest to the Sun.
Comet ISON was discovered by Russian astronomer Artyom Novichonok and Belarusian counterpart Vitali Nevski when working at the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON) near Kislovodsk, Russia.
The comet was discovered in September 2012 at a distance of 6.29 au.
