COBS News archive

Comet ISON Update
November 17, 2013
Reports of naked-eye sightings of Comet ISON are coming in from around the world. Experienced observers put the comets magntitude at +5.5 on Nov. 16th. This means it is now fully 10 times brighter than it was only three days ago before the outburst.

Comet ISON: Whats Next?
November 15, 2013
Comet ISON is now inside the orbit of Earth as it plunges headlong toward the sun for a fiery close encounter on Nov. 28th. Although the comet is not yet as bright as many forecasters predicted, the comet is putting on a good show for observatories around the solar system. NASA spacecraft and amateur astronomers alike are snapping crisp pictures of the comets gossamer green atmosphere and filamentary double-tail.

Comet ISON outburst
November 14, 2013
Multiple observers are reporting that Comet ISON brightened sharply last night. It started the week as an 8th magnitude object invisible to the human eye, but now it has surged to the threshold of naked-eye visibility.

This comet is brighter than ISON
November 14, 2013
Comet ISON is getting all the press, but another comet is outshining the media-favorite by nearly an order of magnitude. Comet Lovejoy (C/2013 R1) is almost 10 times brighter than Comet ISON as it passes just outside the orbit of Earth in mid-November. Rolando Ligustri took this picture of Comet Lovejoy on November 12th using a remotely-controlled telescope in New Mexico.

Comet ISON sprouts a double tail
November 14, 2013
Amateur astronomers are getting a better look at Comet ISON as it dives toward the sun for a Nov. 28th close encounter with solar fire. As the heat rises, the comet brightens, revealing new details every day. This photo, taken Nov. 10th by Michael Jäger of Jauerling Austria, shows a beautiful double tail.

When Is a Comet Not a Comet?
November 13, 2013
Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have observed a unique and baffling object in the asteroid belt that looks like a rotating lawn sprinkler or badminton shuttlecock. While this object is on an asteroid-like orbit, it looks like a comet, and is sending out tails of dust into space.

New Comet: C/2013 V3 (NEVSKI)
November 13, 2013
Cbet nr. 3695, issued on 2013, November 08, announces the discovery of a new comet (discovery magnitude ~15.1) by Vitali Nevski on four 180-s CCD exposures obtained on Nov. 7 with a 0.2-m f/1.5 reflector (and confirmed with images taken using a 0.4-m f/3 reflector) at the ISON-Kislovodsk observatory near Kislovodsk, Russia. The new comet has been designated C/2013 V3 (NEVSKI).

New Comet: C/2013 V2 (BORISOV)
November 11, 2013
Cbet nr. 3694, issued on 2013, November 08, announces the discovery of a new comet (discovery magnitude ~16.9) by G. Borisov on three CCD images taken with a 0.2-m f/1.5 astrograph on Nov. 6. The new comet has been designated C/2013 V2 (BORISOV).

The Multi-Tailed Main-Belt Comet P/2013 P5
November 10, 2013
Cbet nr. 3639, issued on 2013, August 27, announced the discovery of a new comet (discovery magnitude ~20.9) in CCD exposures obtained on August 15 by the Pan-STARRS1 telescope on Haleakala. The new comet has been designated P/2013 P5 (PANSTARRS).

NASAs Hubble Sees Asteroid Spout Six Comet-like Tails
November 07, 2013
Astronomers viewing our solar systems asteroid belt with NASAs Hubble Space Telescope have seen for the first time an asteroid with six comet-like tails of dust radiating from it like spokes on a wheel.

New Comet: C/2013 V1 (BOATTINI)
November 07, 2013
Cbet nr. 3689, issued on 2013, November 06, announces the discovery of a new comet (discovery magnitude ~15.6) by A. Boattini on CCD images obtained with the Catalina Sky Surveys 0.68-m Schmidt telescope. The new comet has been designated C/2013 V1 (BOATTINI).

New Comet: P/2013 T2 (SCHWARTZ)
October 29, 2013
Cbet nr. 3676, issued on 2013, October 22, announces the discovery of a new comet (discovery magnitude ~18.8) by M. Schwartz on CCD images obtained with the 0.41-m f/3.75 Tenagra III astrograph. The new comet has been designated P/2013 T2 (SCHWARTZ).

Outburst of comet C/2012 X1 (LINEAR)
October 22, 2013
Cbet No. 3674, issued on 2013 October 21, reports an outburst in brightness of comet C/2012 X1 (LINEAR). The magnitude of the comet was measured by H. Sato on on Oct. 20.5 to be total mag 8.5 (as measured within a circular aperture of diameter 85.2 arcsec) with a brighter center about 10 arcsec across. The predicted H_10 magnitude for C/2012 X1 (LINEAR) would be around 14 now.

Comet ISON Appears Intact
October 17, 2013
A new image of the sunward plunging Comet ISON taken by NASAs Hubble Space Telescope on October 9, 2013, suggests that the comet is intact despite some predictions that the fragile icy nucleus might disintegrate as the Sun warms it. The comet will pass closest to the Sun on November 28.

Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) - Update 2013-10-16
October 16, 2013
Further follow-up on C/2012 S1 (ISON) on 2013, Oct. 4-7, through the 2.0-m f/10.0 Ritchey-Chretien + CCD + SDSS r Filter of Liverpool Telescope (MPC code J13).

Comet C/ISON Details Emerge as it Races Toward the Sun
October 11, 2013
Scientists are unraveling more information on Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) as it continues on its journey toward the Sun. Comet C/ISON will skim 730,000 miles above the Suns surface on Nov. 28 and has the potential to be readily visible from Earth starting in early December.

Comet ISONs Current Status
September 25, 2013
All of us in the CIOC Team routinely get many, often very similar, questions regarding Comet ISON. Foremost among these are How bright is Comet ISON right now? and How bright will Comet ISON get?. The latter of these we can only guess, but the former is a little more definite. Thus we are using this page to show the latest brightness estimates of Comet ISON, per the plot that you see below.

Amateur Astronomers See Comet ISON
September 24, 2013
Anticipation is building as Comet ISON approaches the sun for a close encounter on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 28). No one knows if the blast of solar heating ISON receives will turn it into one of the finest comets in years--or destroy the icy visitor from the outer solar system.

NASAs Deep Space Comet Hunter Mission Comes to an End
September 23, 2013
After almost 9 years in space that included an unprecedented July 4th impact and subsequent flyby of a comet, an additional comet flyby, and the return of approximately 500,000 images of celestial objects, NASAs Deep Impact mission has ended.

Preparing of Comet ISON
September 23, 2013
ESA’s space missions are getting ready to observe an icy visitor to the inner Solar System: Comet ISON, which might also be visible in the night sky later this year as a naked eye object.