A couple of days ago we reported that comet ISON will pass through the corona of the Sun on Nov 28. In the mean time, astronomers have become very anxious to find out whether the space projectile will disintegrate from the Sun’s intense heat and gravity, or if it will manage to slingshot around the star. Regarding this, space agency NASA has made a stunning video where you can see comet ISON heading towards the Sun.
NASA has captured the journey of comet ISON heading towards the Sun via the spacecraft, Stereo. As per calculation, the comet will begin rounding the Sun today. On the other side, the more close the comet reaches to the Sun, the more intense heat of Sun it will receive and therefore, the comet is supposed to vanish before it heads to Mars. NASA has confirmed that ISON will pass within 684,000 miles of the Sun.
Astronomers are now holding their breath to see whether or not the comet can tolerate the extreme heat and pressure and survive while passing by the Sun. Regarding this, NASA has released a stunning video of ISON where you can see the comet heading towards the Sun, keeping the two planets: Earth and Mars aside. Note that, the video shows the journey of ISON from Nov 20 to Nov 25. Here is the video:
NASA has mentioned that if the comet ISON doesn’t survive, its researchers will still be able to learn plenty just from tracking its journey. In addition, the agency has also said that it’ll be able to determine what the comet is made of, learn a little bit more about how the sun works, and even shed some light on the origin of the solar system.
Source: NASA
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