Comet Ison destroyed in Sun passage

[Posteritatis]

Source: BBC News

Comet Ison was severely battered in its encounter with the Sun, and largely destroyed.

Telescopes saw the giant ball of ice and dust disappear behind the star, but only a dull streamer emerge.

Astronomers continued to search for the object, but it eventually became clear that the much vaunted "Comet of the Century" had gone out with a whimper.

Despite its great size, Ison was probably torn apart in the immense heat and tidal forces so close to the Sun.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25143861

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Alas.

[Agschmid]

1. Awww. I never saw it.

[BlueJazz]

2. Damn...Feel like I lost a good friend. Fucking Sun ! Thanks a lot.

[DJ13]

10. Fucking Sun ! Thanks a lot.

My parents used to say the same thing.

[BlueJazz]

14. LOL!

[arcane1]

3. Obviously, the White House had it destroyed to distract us from Obamacare.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

24. Would make a great cartoon or graphic! nt

[Control-Z]

4. Thanks, Obama. (nt)

[JusticeForAll]

29. I am loving this "Thanks, Obama" meme....

I just saw it on Yahoo minutes ago, in reference to the Pizza Hut worker getting fired...

http://news.yahoo.com/pizza-hut-offers-rehire-manager-refused-open-holiday-233147602--finance.html

"A person loses his job for refusing to open up his Pizza Hut on Thanksgiving?........ Thanks Obama !"


I am so glad that every news story can now be attributed to President Obama's machinations. He is the President, the most powerful man in the world. He has no time for turkey...there's a whole world full of news waiting to be schemed, controlled and manipulated to his benefit!

Thanks, Obama!

[Coyotl]

32. The evil one does it again.

[wryter2000]

5. Awww

I guess I'll go look at my photo of Hale-Bopp.

[question everything]

20. Now, that was a comet!

As we were driving to the high point to take photos - with the old film camera - we could see it before we even reached the site.

Of course, it was not a sun grazer comet like ISON was. ISON was in the sun atmosphere, less than a sun width distance.

[NastyRiffraff]

6. bummer

We all lost our chance to see it.

Poor Ison. Damn Sun.

[Chemisse]

7. That's a disappointment.

[Ikonoklast]

31. This belongs here.

[WilliamPitt]

8. Thanks, Obama.

[rdharma]

9. Actually you should thank Grumpy Cat!

[question everything]

21. How did you do that? Poor Grumpy Cat

[RoccoR5955]

23. You beat me to it! n/t

[Wolf Frankula]

11. GOOD! It Was Plotting to TAKE AWAY OUR GUNS!

Winslow Teabagger.

Wolf

[lordsummerisle]

12. So much for

The comet of the century...

[Faygo Kid]

13. Oh well, at least we'll always have Kohoutek.

Or Paris. I'm so confused.

[Curmudgeoness]

15. Damn the liberal media.

Something that I would never have know about without all the hype.....and now I feel really bad that the sun killed it. WTF

[classof56]

16. Oh, darn! ISON I never knew ye!

Had been keeping fingers crossed it would make the transit and grace our skies with its presence. Alas, 'twas not to be.

Hope another one appears to my wondering eyes e'er long. As I approach my 80th year, chances may be growing slim. But as I think about it, perhaps when I leave my earthly abode, who knows? I may catch a comet's tail and soar throughout the universe unrestricted by gravity and the confines of my frail old body.

One can always hope!

[William Seger]

17. So that's gonna be the "official story" huh?

*cough*(CIA)*cough*

[davidpdx]

19. Sun of a....

[rdharma]

22. Lee Harvey Oswald

No conspiracy!

[ThoughtCriminal]

25. Not so fast -

http://spaceweather.com/

"CANCEL THE EULOGY ... FOR NOW: Comet ISON flew through the sun's atmosphere on Nov. 28th and the encounter did not go well for the icy comet. Just before perihelion (closest approach to the sun) the comet rapidly faded and appeared to disintegrate. This prompted reports of ISON's demise. However, a fraction of the comet might have survived"

[defacto7]

26. That's what I heard.

It may not be much but there are indications that it's tail is forming again. The solar flair may have blown the tail away for a time but now... just wait. We'll probably know in the next 24 hours what is left of it.

[Voice for Peace]

27. This is getting confusing.

[Left Coast2020]

28. Expect Darryl Issa to have hearings on this.

[Ruby the Liberal]

30. She's not dead yet, Jim

Washington Post: Did Comet ISON survive? Scientists see tiny hope.

STOCKHOLM — Scientists were studying spacecraft images Friday to find out whether a small part of Comet ISON survived its close encounter with the sun.

The comet at first seemed to have fallen apart as it approached the sun’s sizzling surface, but new images showed a streak of light moving away from the sun that some said could indicate it wasn’t game over just yet.

“It certainly appears as if there is an object there that is emitting material,” said Alan Fitzsimmons, an astronomer at Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The European Space Agency, which had declared ISON’s death on Twitter late Thursday, was backtracking early Friday, saying the comet “continues to surprise.”