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Newly Spotted Comet May Shine Among Brightest In History

Reader intellitech points to an article at National Geographic, from which he excerpts: "If astronomers' early predictions hold true, the holidays next year may hold a glowing gift for stargazers—a superbright comet, just discovered streaking near Saturn. Even with powerful telescopes, comet 2012 S1 (ISON) is now just a faint glow in the constellation Cancer. But the ball of ice and rocks might become visible to the naked eye for a few months in late 2013 and early 2014—perhaps outshining the moon, astronomers say. The comet is already remarkably bright, given how far it is from the sun, astronomer Raminder Singh Samra said. What's more, 2012 S1 seems to be following the path of the Great Comet of 1680, considered one of the most spectacular ever seen from Earth."

5 of 100 comments (clear)

  1. More Corona peeze by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 4, Funny

    > asuperbright comet, just discovered streaking near Saturn

    Sweet -- look at the tail on that streaker!

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  2. Whats more by Osgeld · · Score: 4, Funny

    "What's more, 2012 S1 seems to be following the path of the Great Comet of 1680, considered one of the most spectacular ever seen from Earth."

    got a link? no?

    http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Great+comet+of+1680&l=1

    jeez, if your going to reference something in an article take 2 seconds to post a link

  3. Obligatory 'End of the World' thread here by Mister+Liberty · · Score: 4, Funny

    For starters, 2013 minus 2000 equals 13.

  4. Re:I'll believe it when I see it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm old enough to have heard this sort of speculation about Kohoutek as well.

    That's fair enough, science hasn't changed since 1973. I believe that history will ultimately show that the decline of science started with the break-up of The Doors, though others contend that it was the rise of The Butts Band. Still others mark 1973 as the beginning of the end of civilisation itself, implying that the impact of the break-up of The Doors created tear in the fabric of human social history that was not simply limited to the decline of scientific endeavour.

  5. Re:Kohoutek by rs79 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm old enough to remember suggesting to Halley "hey, try looking over there."

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