52 HOLIDAY 2013 boatingonthehudson.com
As the winter months of
November and December arrive
with their clear and crisp night
air and bright starlit skies, the
long anticipated appearance of
comet ISON has finally arrived!
ISON is about to make naked eye
visibility in the early morning sky
this month and sky watchers and
astronomers worldwide are over-
joyed.
Of course, who really
knows if ISON will become the
“comet of the century” as it was
predicted to be by many astrono-
mers shortly after its discovery
and during the month’s that fol-
lowed as it approached the sun
and began to achieving naked eye
visibility. Comets are notoriously
unpredictable and even some that
were predicted to be total duds in
the past, surprised many astrono-
mers by putting on magnificent
displays once they came close
to the warmth of the sun. On
the other hand, many that were
predicted to afford spectacular
displays, turned out to be far less
than predicted, and at the most,
lackluster or mediocre in appear-
ance.
Most comets are thought
to be conglomerates of icy gases,
dust, rock, and primordial de-
bris left over from the formation
of our solar system rather than
solid objects. Recent discoveries
by spacecraft that have visited
comets as they approached the
sun during their journeys through
the solar system, have in some
cases determined that comets can
have shells of materials similar to
an onion skins. As the comet gets
closer to the sun and becomes
warmer, the shells begin to sub-
limate. The comet then can often
surprise observers by under going
“eruptions” and “burps” of frozen
materials thought to be trapped in
Comet ISON
Finally Appears In The Sky
By Ed and Susan Forrest
HOLIDAY 2013.indd 59
11/7/13 7:50 AM
