Did Comet ISON Survive?

Last month there was considerable excitement as Comet ISON approached the sun. It was one of the clearest comet sightings in recent times and was even visible by the naked eyes as it approached the sun and began to disintegrate. As it flew by earth a number of scientists and researchers have used this opportunity to understand the behavior of comets better.

While most comets are unpredictable, Comet ISON stayed true to predictions and did not veer off at a tangent from its calculated orbit. Most observers thought that the trip into the inner solar system would spell the end of this particular comet. However the scientific community is hoping that a small nucleus of the Comet ISON has survived its encounter with the sun.

Photographs of the white smear that moved away from the sun after the disintegration taken by the European Space Agency and NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory have added to this hope. Those who have studied the photographs are confident that the nucleus may have the ability to rebuild the comet as it cools and escapes into the outer solar system again.

Will it succeed? Only time will tell. Analyzing the data that was generated by this close observation of the comet will give rise to ample science projects all over the scientific community.