11/26/2013 UPDATE EVERY DAY Space Weather [COMET ISON]

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comet ison 101… stop the fear…. now. Lets NOT let them make this another ‘comet elenin 2.0’…..

If you see people obsessing on ISON tell them to stop, because comet obsessors are totally, extremely, excessively annoying.

😉

One of D,A, Biesecker’s Comet Discoveries in 1997 http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/mpec… With all of the inquiry of what Comet ISON may or may not do in the future, I must admit that I am a bit at ease knowing that the Earth will not be impacted by this Comet, at least from the opinion of a Professional in this field.
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today video and so no

 

 

 

I don’t have much time tonight to make a cool looking animation with labels and things as I still need to prepare to head out for my week at Kitt Peak. However, I did have time to at least create an animated gif with the latest images I was able to get my hands on! These images span Nov 20 18:05 UT to Nov 23 22:49UT with an image about once an hour.

If you recall from my last blog post, there was a coronal mass ejection (CME) on the way and we wondered if it would hit the comets. Our question has been sort of answered… The CME can be seen coming towards the comets but then… argh! We had a data gap! (Put the tin foil down! Data gaps happen all the time, and they’re temporary.) We pick up the sequence a few hours after the CME has passed but there doesn’t appear to be any major interaction happening so I suspect they didn’t get hit, or if they did then it wasn’t a directly blow.

Both of these comets are directly in the line of fire for CMEs, though, so hopefully we do get a big one in the next couple of days.

For those of you that follow me on Twitter, you’ll have seen that earlier on I mentioned that there were now three comets visible in this field of view. That is indeed the case, with the third being C/2013 R1 (Lovejoy). I didn’t include that comet in this movie as it’s kind of small and unimpressive and tucked away in the corner. You can see what I mean in this full-resolution frame.

I don’t really have much analysis to add tonight beyond what I said last time.

The tails are clearly interacting strongly with the solar wind, with ISON perhaps in a slightly faster stream than Encke. We have had several questions from folks confused about the geometry here, so I urge you to take a look at the animations here that illustrate ISON’s orbit relative to the STEREO-A spacecraft. Comet Encke isn’t on that plot but it’s near to Mercury also.

Tomorrow I will be in transit for nearly all of the day so, aside from the occasional Tweet and a new Image of the Week feature (which you absolutely need to check back for tomorrow as it’s fabulous!), you might not hear too much from me until Tuesday. I’ll do what I can, though, and hopefully Matthew will chime in with some thoughts on here.

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On November 28, 2013 at 18:44 UTC Comet ISON will reach its perihelion and fly by about 1.2 million km (730 000 miles) above the solar surface​. Since space-based solar observatories will be recording its passage just follow the links and timetable below for front row seat.

 

STEREO is already taking unique images and videos. Take a look at its image of Comet Encke and ISON on November 26. The movie is in the link below.

 

 

STEREO A HI1

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SLIGHT CHANCE OF FLARES: The Earthside of the sun is quiet. NOAA forecasters estimate a slim 1% chance of either M- or X-class solar flares on Nov. 27th. However, there is at least one active region on the farside of the sun which could target Comet ISON when it swings around the farside after Nov. 28th. Solar flare alerts: text, voice

COMET ISON, SO FAR SO GOOD: Comet ISON is hurtling toward the sun today at 148,000 mph and, despite the rising heat, the comet appears to be intact. Yesterday, reports of fading spectral lines from the comet’s core raised concerns that the icy nucleus might be disintegrating. Current images from NASA and ESA spacecraft, however, show the comet still going strong. Comet ISON has just entered the field of view of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO):

The comet’s entrance coincides with a bright CME racing away from the sun’s southwestern limb. Astronomers have been wondering what might happen if a CME strikes Comet ISON. This CME, however, will probably miss. The source of the cloud is a farside active region, which is not directly facing the comet.

NASA’s STEREO-A spacecraft is also monitoring the comet. Click to view a high-resolution movie (32 MB), which compresses 96 hours into less than 1 minute:

Credits: This movie was made by reader Rob Matson using data from STEREO-A.

The movie spans a 3+ day interval from Nov. 21 to Nov. 24 roughly centered on the period when astronomers at the IRAM telescope in Spain recorded fading emission lines from the comet’s core. Zoom your movie-player to full screen: Although “puffs” of material can be seen billowing down the comet’s tail, the comet itself does not appear to be disintegrating. So what caused the fade…?

“I will admit that I was pretty worried yesterday morning when reports of lower production rates came in,” says Matthew Knight of the Lowell Observatory and NASA’s Comet ISON Observation Campaign. “However, the STEREO-A brightness has increased steadily over the subsequent 36 hr, and I’m more optimistic again. My off-the-cuff thought is that there was an [outburst of dust, which dampened the emission lines] from roughly Nov 20-22, and it has returned to brightening again.”

Astronomer Karl Battams of NASA’s Comet ISON Observing Campaign urges readers to remember the following: “Comet ISON is a dynamically new sungrazing comet, fresh in from the Oort Cloud, and the last time we saw an object like this was never! Furthermore, a sungrazing comet just days from perihelion has never been studied in this kind of detail – we’re breaking new ground! When we factor in your standard ‘comets are unpredictable’ disclaimer, what we have is a huge recipe for the unknown.”

Stay tuned for updates.