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Credit & Copyright: Lieve Verschuier
Explanation:
Was there ever another comet like ISON?
Although no two comets are exactly alike,
one that appears to have had notable similarities was Comet Kirch, the
Great Comet of 1680.
Like approaching
Comet ISON,
Comet Kirch was a bright
sungrazer,
making a very
close approach
to the surface of the Sun.
Neither comet, coincidently, is a member of the most common group of
sungrazers -- the
Kreutz group --
populated by remnants of a comet that
disintegrated near the Sun hundreds of years ago.
The long tail of Comet Kirch is depicted in the above painting by
Lieve Versheier.
As pictured, some members of the foreground crowd of
Rotterdam in
the Netherlands are holding
cross-staffs,
an angle measuring device that predated the
sextant.
No one knows how
Comet ISON
will develop, but like Comet Kirch, it is expected to be
brightest when very near the Sun, in
ISON's case
during last few days of November.
Gallery:
Bright Comets of 2013
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January February March April May June July August September October November December |
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: sungrazer - Sun
Publications with words: sungrazer - Sun
See also:
- APOD: 2025 July 30 Á Coronal Loops on the Sun
- APOD: 2025 May 21 Á International Space Station Crosses the Sun
- APOD: 2025 March 16 Á Venus and the Triply Ultraviolet Sun
- APOD: 2024 September 2 Á A Triangular Prominence Hovers Over the Sun
- APOD: 2024 August 18 Á A Solar Prominence Eruption from SDO
- APOD: 2024 August 4 Á Gaia: Here Comes the Sun
- APOD: 2024 July 28 Á Sun Dance