Bulgaria to Witness Extremely Bright Comet in Nov 2013

At its discovery in September 2012, Comet C2012 S1 (ISON) was beyond the orbit of the 5th planet from our sun, Jupiter. It will sweep into the inner solar system in 2013. False color image by Remanzacco Observatory

The sungrazing comet C/2012 S1 (ISON), which is predicted to be extremely bright, will be visible to the naked eye in Bulgaria at the end of November 2013, according to local experts.

Experts from the Bulgarian observatory Stellar Society - IAU A79 have told local media that it will be seen with the naked eye just before sunrise in the country on November 29, 2013.

The new comet, named C/2012 S1 (ISON) was found by the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON) in Russia on 21 September when astronomers Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok captured it on CCD images taken through a 0.4-metre reflector.

Astronomy Now explains that the comet's near-parabolic orbit suggests that it has arrived fresh from the Oort Cloud, a vast zone of icy objects orbiting the Sun, pristine remnants of the formation of the Solar System.

According to Space.com, the comet's perihelion (its closest point to the sun) is due on November 28, 2013. At this point, the comet will come within 1.2 million km of the sun's surface and could evolve into a dazzling object ? possibly bright enough to be visible for a short time in broad daylight.

Northern hemisphere observers are to be highly favoured.

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