Latest Updates on Comet ISON [1]
by Alan MacRobert
“Only a dim “ghost of ISON” survived the comet’s November 28th passage around the Sun. The comet’s head dwindled away as it raced through the Sun’s greatest heat, but a headless streak emerged into spacecraft view out from the other side of the encounter. It’s traveling along the comet’s originally prescribed track but fading steadily, with no sign of cometary activity. Very little or nothing is likely to become visible from Earth.”From: http://www.skyandtelescope.com/community/skyblog/observingblog/193909261.html which is a good, trustworthy general observing resource
Me again:
So as we come out of the blind period today and tomorrow, we are not going to be able to observe Comet ISON from Seattle unless something unexpected and unprecedented happens. Comets are notably unpredictable, but that unpredictability peaks as they pass the Sun, and then they are usually much more normal and not so erratic in their brightness and tail-length after their closest approach.
So, the “Comet of the Century” is relegated to being “the most-anticipated comet of the decade.” Not to worry, we still have two other visible comets in our night sky: Lovejoy [2] and Encke [3]. There’s also Comet LINEAR [4], but that one is also for experienced viewers.
Advanced viewers can use the finding charts at Waiting For ISON to find Comet ISON with telescopes: http://waitingforison.wordpress.com/november-2013/Text Block 1
~ A l i c e !