Way cool interactive website shows what is going on in real time…
Watch it here: http://www.cometison2013.co.uk/perihelion-and-distance/
h/t to Eric Berger
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Way cool indeed. Thanks. Thanksgiving thanks and Blessings.
Only 370,805.45mph? pffttt! ISON ain’t got nuthin’ on the NASCAR wannabees that pass me on my morning commute!
(This is great. Thanks A-nt-ho-ny and Eric Berger)
I was listening to Adagio for Strings when I clicked the 3d animation… thought we were all going to die for a second.
Thank you ( from all us amateur astronomers out there ) for posting something about this. I was thinking just an hour ago about writing a little article for submission as I was unsure you would cover this event.
I’m sure your readers will want to follow this story given that it could soon be a spectacular sight in the South Eastern skies should it survive perihelion tomorrow.
I for one am hoping it does as i’ve been out all month scouting viewing points to set up my cameras to shoot the comet during December.
Readers may also find this helpful
http://www.universetoday.com/106710/guide-to-safely-viewing-comet-ison-on-perihelion-day-novenber-28/
Quite impressed with the per second speed, wow, and it’s increasing.
What does the AU reading mean?
AU is short for astronomical uit, ldd. 1 AU is the average distance from the earth to the sun (just under 93 million miles).
Incidentally, its speed will increase a LOT between now and perihelion – think rollercoaster just reaching the top of the first drop 🙂
Thanks Joe, fascinating stuff.
What is the expected maximum speed?
Around 845000 MPH (235 miles per second). Even the nascar wannabes may be struggling to keep up by then 😀
Fantastic.
“We (I assume they mean NASA) will point SDO at three different positions as Comet ISON moves through perihelion on November 28, 2013.” ” We plan to off-point at 17:30 UTC (12:30 pm ET) and return to normal solar observing at 20:45 UTC (3:45 pm ET). We will begin posting images after SDO completes the first repointing maneuver and we obtain and process the data. Images should begin appearing sometime between 12:45 pm and 1:00 pm ET.”
See http://cometison.gsfc.nasa.gov/index/about for more info on this.
OT — I’ve had problems with Flash player crashing more and more often, even though I updated it to the latest version. It crashed on the ad when I opened up wattsupwiththat this time. Wonder if anyone else has experienced issues with Flash?
ahem.. not live updates, it’s a model
REPLY: Yes but the speed and trajectory is a live update – A
Thanks for this. I will spread it around.
@littlepeaks
What browser? Try disabling add-ons one-by-one.
At its terminal high speed, it will not take much of a bit sunward falling debris to give it a huge jolt. That interactive dynamic map is amazing. Its hyperbolic trajectory makes it unlikely that even if it breaks up radically any bits of it would hit earth.
clipe says:
November 27, 2013 at 3:10 pm
@littlepeaks
Also check ad blocking software. (something I read over at BishopHill)
clipe says:
November 27, 2013 at 3:10 pm
@littlepeaks
One more suggestion. Try “private browsing” (Firefox-Internet Exploder)
AnonyMoose says:
November 27, 2013 at 3:09 pm
ahem.. not live updates, it’s a model
===========
So, would “live updates of the data provided so that we might provide some semblance of the trajectory of the comet for your viewing pleasure and enlightenment” work for you.
Or do you need more ?
According to “Lew” I’m a conspiracy theorist, so here we go.
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/11/26/massive-blast-heard-near-quebec-ontario-border-likely-a-meteor-expert/
Latest image from SOHO Lasco C3 of comet Ison as of about 40 minutes ago.
Note there is another large CME going on right now which makes for the third one today.
http://s11.postimg.org/qlf9bvsxv/20131127_2306_c3_512.jpg
@clipe. Will try your suggestion about addons. Using SeaMonkey as a browser (related to FireFox). Not using ad-blocking software (although maybe I should).
Thanks for suggestions.
littlepeaks says:
flash problem
Another option is to disable hardware acceleration (pause video, rightclick on video, settings > disable hardware acceleration – sometimes the settings menu item will only appear in the full-screen mode)
The Lasco 3C images are very interesting. If you copy any two images taken 15 minutes apart (the default update period) to your desktop and open them in separate windows, size and position them just right they’re perfect and perfectly gorgeous (3D) stereograms.
Thank you for these updates. It is interesting stuff.
Yes, I know that it’s a rather accurate estimate of the path, except for perturbations caused by things such as thrust caused by venting. And the trajectory information ignores what we most want to know: Does it break up? How visible is it? How visible will it be?
Fortunately, we’ll soon find out about ISON’s behavior, unlike the delay in people finding out the difference between climate models and reality.