COMET ISON: Comet ISON is still more than two months away from its spectacular close encounter with the sun. Amateur astronomers aren’t waiting. The brightening comet has become a good target for backyard telescopes in the pre-dawn sky and pictures of the comet are pouring in. Chris Schur captured this image from his home observatory in Payson, Arizona:

“This 25 minute exposure shows the comet through a 12 inch telescope,” says Schur. “The image has sharp focus, perfect tracking and the star trails are unbroken and smooth. A nearby star added to the nice composition.”

At the moment, ISON is too dim for the naked eye–“I estimate the comet’s magnitude to be +12.5,” says Schur–but it is on track to become an impressive sungrazer. For comparison, Comet ISON is brighter than Comet Lovejoy was in 2011 at a similar distance from the sun. The fact that Comet Lovejoy turned into a spectacular sungrazer bodes well for the performance of Comet ISON.

Observers of Comet ISON will notice that it is in the same part of the sky as Mars. The comet will make a close approach to the Red Planet on October 1st, and during that time Mars satellites will be taking ISON’s picture at point blank range. Those images will likely rival or improve upon the view from Earth.

fr/spaceweather.com