Comet Ison

Good morning one and all! Good news!! A few days ago, comet Ison became visible to the naked eye. Comet Ison, which people are calling the comet of the century, was discovered in 2012, but it has just now become visible to the naked eye. I unfortunately have not seen it; London isn't the best city for stargazing! :( Hopefully I'll catch a glimpse soon!! But what is a comet?? A comet is basically a ball of dust and ice which orbits the sun. Comets have an icy core called a nucleus. The ice is not just formed of water though, but also carbon dioxide, ammonia, and methane among other things. This nucleus is surrounded by gas and dust called a coma. This coma is created as the ice in the nucleus warms (due to the sun) and vaporizes. A comet also has a tail. Actually they can have two tails as they travel closer and closer to the sun. The first tail, a straight gas tail, is caused by solar winds pushing the gas away from the coma and straight towards the sun. The second tail, a curved gas tail, is formed by the dust in the coma. This dust is vaporized by the sun which creates this curved tail which follows the comet's orbit. Comet Ison's discovery was announced on September 24, 2012 by Russian astronomers Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok near Kislovodsk, Russia. The comet's real name is C/2012 S1. There are two times that viewing this comet should be optimal, on a full moon and when it is closest to the sun, its Perihelion. The full moon is tonight, November 17th. But the best time to see the comet will probably be when it is closest to the sun (unless it's completely vaporized...) on November 28th. Here are a few links on Comet Ison.

Tips to see the comet: http://m.huffpost.com/uk/entry/4272629?utm_hp_ref=uk-tech

Where the comet is: http://www.armaghplanet.com/blog/where-is-comet-ison-in-the-sky.html

Another map to see the comet (you have to scroll down a bit):  http://www.universetoday.com/106465/whoa-take-a-look-at-comet-ison-now/

If you want more information just Google comet Ison, you should get loads of information!
Hearts!!
Addi