ISON Brightens
ISON has brightened considerably, by as much as 10x brighter since mid-week. Experienced observers have estimated the comet's magntitude at +5.5 on Nov. 16th. My own observation on November 14 put it at magnitude 6.5. Why the sudden burst? It could be that the nucleus has broken apart into multiple pieces, but that can not be confirmed until later this month. For more details see the November 17th article in SpaceWeather.com.
Rare Double Comet Flyby of Mercury
NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft is about to get a close-up view of Comet ISON's outburst. On Nov. 18-19 Comet ISON and Comet Encke both will fly by Mercury, the planet MESSENGER is orbiting. You can learn more about this rare double-comet flyby and what MESSENGER might see in a video from Science@NASA.
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