A chunk of rock and ice in the far reaches of the solar system is being watched by astronomers for what it is expected to do next year. The discovery of Comet Ison is credited to Russian astronomers Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok, who spotted the object in September.
The comet was discovered using the International Scientific Optical Network's (Ison) 40 cm telescope. It is classified as "a few tens of miles across" and will be visible to the naked eye around Thanksgiving.
Right now astronomers believe Ison will pass within two million miles of Earth (EXTREMELY close in astronomical terms) in about a year. We will provide an update in the coming months with a narrower timeframe of Ison's near-miss.
The comet was discovered using the International Scientific Optical Network's (Ison) 40 cm telescope. It is classified as "a few tens of miles across" and will be visible to the naked eye around Thanksgiving.
Right now astronomers believe Ison will pass within two million miles of Earth (EXTREMELY close in astronomical terms) in about a year. We will provide an update in the coming months with a narrower timeframe of Ison's near-miss.
