Green Comet ISON to Survive Close Encounter with Sun, Blazing by Earth

It's still up in the air whether or not the blazing comet ISON will become the "comet of the century." Yet new details are coming out that seem to indicate that the comet will be putting on quite a show for stargazers here on Earth. Scientists have discovered that it's likely that ISON will survive its close encounter with the sun as it blazes past, which means that we should get a spectacular view of the phenomenon from our planet.

The comet was first discovered on September 21 2012. Russian astronomers spotted ISON using a telescope with the International Scientific Optical Network. At the time, the researchers predicted that the comet would fly past the sun at a distance of just 2.7 solar radii.

Since then, the comet has continued its trek toward our sun. In fact, Adam Block, astronomy educator and astrophotographer, recently caught a stunning image of ISON from Mount Lemmon SkyCenter in Tucson Arizona (see picture).

"I am certain more images of this will be coming out shortly as it increases in brightness during its dive toward the sun," wrote Brock in an email to NBC News. "Here is to hoping it survives that rendezvous and emerges as something spectacular on the other side! Although its future is questionable...being prepared is always a sure thing to take advantage of quickly changing conditions."  

It seems as if the comet may indeed survive its close encounter with the sun, though. Scientists have used numerical simulations to study whether or not ISON would be ripped apart. After determining that the comet is somewhere between 1 and 4 kilometers, they determined that ISON is big enough not to be vaporized, according to Nature.com.

That's not to say that it's a sure thing that ISON will survive. The comet could still be tidally disrupted, depending on how dense it is, according to Nature.com. If the comet has a typical density, though, it should make it mostly intact. If it's less dense, it might disintegrate and go bust before it reaches the point where it makes a show for our planet.

Currently, the comet is still too dim to see with the naked eye. Yet if you have the right kind of telescope, you can see it alongside Mars in the eastern sky, just before dawn. The comet itself will reach its peak on November 28 and should be visible with the naked eye during the early days of December and end of November. Cross your fingers: We may very well be in for the comet of the century.