Facts
Comet ISON, formally known as C/2012 S1, was a sungrazing comet discovered on 21 September 2012 by Vitali Nevski (Виталий Невский, Vitebsk,Belarus) and Artyom Novichonok (Артём Новичонок, Kondopoga, Russia). The discovery was made using the 0.4-meter (16 in) reflector of theInternational Scientific Optical Network (ISON) near Kislovodsk, Russia. Observations by Swift in January 2013 suggested that Comet ISON’s nucleus was around 5 kilometers (3 mi) in diameter. Later estimates were that the nucleus was only about 2 kilometers (1 mi) in diameter. Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) observations suggested the nucleus was smaller than 0.8 kilometers (0.5 mi) in diameter.
Comet ISON was at first suspected to have disintegrated on 28 November 2013 (the day of perihelion passage) from the Sun’s heat and tidal forces. However, later that day CIOC (NASA Comet ISON Observing Campaign) members discovered a coma-like feature, suggesting a small fragment of it may have survived perihelion. On 29 November 2013, the coma dimmed to an apparent magnitude of 5. By the end of 30 November 2013, the coma had further faded to below naked-eye visibility at magnitude 7. On 1 December, the coma continued to fade even further as it finished traversing the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory’s view. On 2 December 2013, the CIOC announced that Comet ISON had fully disintegrated, though NASA continues to investigate the possibility that an inactive fragment could have survived. The Hubble Space Telescope failed to detect fragments of ISON on 18 December 2013. (Wikipedia)
Object: C/2012 S1 ISON
Date: 12.10.2013
Time: 05:00
Location: Sollihøgda, Bærum, NO
Camera: SBIG-STT-8300 MONO CCD
Optics: SCT 8″ 1260mm f6,3
Exposure: 4 x 200 sec
Filter: Luminance
Guiding: MaxIm DL, SBIG Selfguiding FW
Post processing: MaxIm DL, Photoshop CS5
Håvard's Observatory 