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The Strange Death of Comet Ison
KentuckyFC (1144503) writes "Last year, astronomers announced that a small ball of ice and rock heading towards the inner Solar System could turn out to be the most eye-catching comet in living memory. They calculated that Comet Ison's orbit would take it behind the Sun but that it would then head towards Earth where it would put on a spectacular display of heavenly fireworks. Sure enough, Ison brightened dramatically as it headed Sunwards. But as astronomers watched on the evening of 28 November, the brightly flaring Ison moved behind the Sun but never emerged. The comet simply disappeared. Now a new analysis of the death of Ison suggests that the comet was doomed long before it reached the Sun. Images from several Sun-observing spacecraft that had a unique view of events, indicate that Ison exhausted its supply of water and other ice in the final flare-ups as it approached the Sun. The new study shows that all that was left in its last hours were a few hundred thousands pebbles glowing brightly as they vaporized in the Sun's heat. In fact, Comet Ison died in full view of the watching hordes of astronomers on Earth who did not realize what they were watching at the time."
Dear ISON, You always were a sociable type. You weren't afraid to come close to our planet. Even if it meant potentially killing us. Were sorry we didn't notice your death.
"Nationalism is an infantile sickness. It is the measles of the human race." -Albert Einstein
"Who killed Comet Ison?" — an upcoming documentary by Michael Moore.
In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
It's just look like the time I was cheering a big daytime fireworks display.
Then I found out it was a fireworks plant exploding. Oh the humanity...
First, of course was Shoemaker-Levy 9.
And we're not counting people who don tracksuits, Nikes and scarf deadly pudding whenever they see a big comet scooting by.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Big ball of ice surprisingly vanished behind big ball of fire, analysis to follow.
Yup, we've come a long way in our understanding of the universe.
I think Icarus had the same problem.
I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
Question for you... are you looking at the sky at night, or during the day?
about astronomy. Time and time again those kooks made wild-ass claims to get the media's attention, and they never delivered. Not once. Over and over again, they lie and claim there are going to be visible meteor storms. In my 52 years, I have never seen one. Not one. They lie. I've spent many hours with a telecope looking for comets, and again, they lied. I haven't seen a one. I even borrowed a $3k telescope from work to try to see Hailey's commet. I didn't see that comet like I couldn't see this one last fall. They also lie about being able to see other planets. The evening news here even quoted a liar professor from the Univeristy of Washington claiming venus could be seen brightly in their shot of the city. I quickly went outside to see the same dot he pointed at, and it didn't take long for me to realize that it was the lights from a plane that landed at Payne Field, probably a Boeing test flight. Again, they lie over and over again. The publicly just doesn't buy their lies any longer. They have no credibility and are responsible for destroying the public's interest in astronomy and space.
By "the public" this guy means people who are just to cheap to afford glasses...
...and don't have any intelligence...
..and don't know how to write. Allow me to add a few examples:
"I haven't seen a one"
"The publicly just doesn't buy their lies any longer."
and what's a "telecope?"
and it's halley's comet.
"Nationalism is an infantile sickness. It is the measles of the human race." -Albert Einstein
what's a "telecope?"
It's a device for accepting something and dealing with it from a distance, obviously.
I've spent many hours with a telecope looking for comets, and again, they lied.
Clearly, this poster has been so badly affected by astronomers' lies that he has now turned to calling his therapist whenever he feels the need to look at the sky. It's a coping mechanism, executed remotely: a telecope.
You do not have a moral or legal right to do absolutely anything you want.
http://memes.onlinememegenerat...
You know what they say: easy comet, easy go
Table-ized A.I.
I don't know where you camp in you urban back yard or something? I've seen meteor showers first hand and they do happen, often when the astronomers predict them. But I also go to places which are far from urban lights to see them and you have to understand what a meteor shower looks like. It's not hundreds of shooting stars like a fireworks display but one every so often. Sometimes it takes a bit of trying to see them because you have to wait for your night vision to return, and then it can take time to actually observe much.
Ah, the memories of my childhood out on the farm. We would go out in the field, lay on our back and watch such events sometimes. Good times..
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
I don't think these guys can forecast climate/astronomy/species origination enough to cut off debate.
I use a telecope for dealing with relatives. I could never handle them up close.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
All the coverage I saw (from astronomy writers, NASA, etc.) said there was definitely a chance of it burning up.
If the non-science media hyped it up somewhat, well they do that for everything. Yes, I a (and many others watched for ISON). Yes, we were disappointed, but no one should have been surprised.
Rather than lash out at a troll, I'd suggest you get your vision checked specifically for nigh-vision. You might be one of a non-trivial set of people who have a significant congenital night-vision deficiency. In modern society, it's easy to not notice, as our urban and suburban environments have significant light pollution and modern man doesn't go into the dark. Alternatively, perhaps you haven't escaped the light pollution adequately to be able to see them, or live somewhere that's so humid that it's hard to see the sky.
Totally fabricated. NASA with a high-altitude test plane throwing out rocks to simulate showers.
I know this for fact: when younger, I went out on the roof and watched a beautiful meteor shower (persieds believe was 'named')...
...but then they announced budget cuts to NASA. There was less money in astronomy. Shuttles started getting issues launching to cover up this reduced budget. During every subsequent 'meteor shower' that was scheduled... the skies were overcast all night, and the sound of planes could be heard infrequently.
The truth couldn't be more obvious: NASA could no longer afford to dump rocks to fake the showers anymore. The showers were scheduled though, even if the money for the special effects was lacking. Instead, they just seeded the clouds to force poor visibility so the myth of the meteor shower could continue onwards. Even as I type this now, the weather forecast gives days of sunny weather, but overcast or rainy evenings. How much longer must this go on? We must either return NASA's budget back to its Hollywood Effects heyday, or admit to ourselves... space is just really really empty, and 'space stuff' is just a lie.
...while it lasted. Especially through my 20cm Newtonian. so bright, so bold.
"That's right...I said it."
... its coming right at us!!!!!
Waltz, nymph, for quick jigs vex Bud.
You're 52 years old, with enough of an interest in astronomy to have a telescope, and you couldn't manage to pick Hale-Bopp out of the night sky? The damn thing was the size of a full moon in rural light conditions. It was by far the brightest thing in the sky other than the moon.
I've been out camping and seen several shooting stars in a matter of minutes. That being said, a shooting star is just that, a tiny pin prick of light flying across the sky in less than a second, it's not anything spectacular to look at (except of course, if you know what it is and what it means). I have, however, seen a single fireball meteor, which as far as I understand is a very rare experience. It was bright enough to light up the ground for a couple seconds, like someone igniting some lighter fluid a couple dozen meters away.
There were hidden mother-ships under control of the mayan-anastassi-egyptian-sireans who are at this moment hiding in the sun's corona and awaiting orders to scoop up the true-believers on earth.
It's true because it says so on the internet.
With a "$3k telescope", assuming not some empty cardboard tube with "telskop" written on the side sold in some back alley "deal," you can actually do some planetary and comet observations during the day. You won't see much, mainly Venus and Jupiter, and it sucks compared to night and some just do it for the novelty, but you would still see something.
I know it is just a troll, but you get people from time to time that buy a telescope because it advertises some insanely high magnification, then with it set up at that magnification they wonder why they can't find anything in the sky. Or they find a star, and have it so out of focus they think they can see the surface of the star when they see a big circle.
I use a microscope for dealing with my distant relatives.
Watching a meteor shower is slightly more exciting than watching paint dry.
Hell, I've seen meteor showers from an urban backyard. Sure, they have to be particularly bright, but they can be visible. The 2002 Leonids were quite easy to see.
Not a sentence!
Oh lord, you realize you just started another conspiracy theory, right? I should start an email chain tonight, attributing this to some vague authority. I wonder how long it would take to propagate.
His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
Leonids. November 2001. Never to be forgotten.
His ignorance covered the whole earth like a blanket, and there was hardly a hole in it anywhere. - Mark Twain
> Hale-Bopp
I remember the irrational hype for that one. I remember it well because I took my son's boy scout troop camping in April 1997 on my 35th birthday. Of course we didn't see a damn thing. It was all hype with no factual backing. We were on the other side of the Olympic mountains from Seattle. You could see more than fifty stars versus the usual five or six. There was very little light polution there, but of course the media as usual lied about how you could see it without special equipment.
as it takes you to understand sarcasm apparently, funny sarcasm at that!
I could see it unaided...from inside my apartment in the downtown of a ~500k population city. If you could see any stars at all, you could see the comet since it was as bright as the brightest star. You didn't even need to wait for dusk.
You could see more than fifty stars versus the usual five or six. There was very little light polution there
Either there was a lot of light pollution, or you have cataracts (or you are just making it up...), as a half way decent viewing site should let you see ~5000 stars, not just fifty.
... a half way decent viewing site should let you see ~5000 stars ...
Recent data suggests there are between 5000 and 6000 stars visible to the naked eye in both hemispheres, so any one person could only see at most about 2500-3000 at a time, and some of those would be obscured by haze at the horizon.
Nevertheless, a heck of a lot more than 50.
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
I could see it unaided...from inside my apartment
I'm not calling BS, but I would love a picture an apartment with a see through roof. I've never seen or heard of such. It must get dirty. How do you keep it clean enough to be able to see stars?
This write-up is misleading.
It states, "But as astronomers watched on the evening of 28 November, the brightly flaring Ison moved behind the Sun but never emerged."
That is wrong. ISON DID in fact emerge. Just not as a cohesive comet. What emerged was a "fan" of dust and debris.
It's not like ISON simply disappeared with no trace and no one saw it.
You've never seen the sky from a window before? Do you live in a basement or at least in a deep valley?
all life is just a result of causal interactions mixed up with another dimension called "time". we call an asteroids disintegration strange because we simply do not have the causal intuition needed to realise it is not strange. My prognosis is lack of knowledge I recommend all the affected people need to be prescribed with a healthy dose of Mathematics, Physics & and foundation of Science. Provided by a truthful discovery applicator using in conjunction with healthy curiosity.