Comet ISON to Skim Sun's Surface in Late November

Called by some the comet of the century, Comet ISON is on a trajectory that will bring it 730,000 miles above the Sun's surface in late November, according to researchers from the Planetary Science Institute.

The event, set to take place Nov. 28, has the potential to be visible from Earth as early as the beginning of December.

"We measured the rotational pole of the nucleus," Jian-Yang Li, who led a team that imaged the comet, said in a statement. "The pole indicates that only one side of the comet is being heated by the Sun on its way in until approximately one week before it reaches it closest point to the Sun."

According to Li, the comet will shed a great deal of its mass upon reaching the Sun's excruciating heat.

"Since the surface on the dark side of the comet should still retain a large fraction of very volatile materials, the sudden exposure to the strong sunlight when it gets closer to the Sun than Mercury could trigger huge outbursts of material," the researcher explained.

Together, the scientists imaged Comet ISON using the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera.

In doing so, they found that the color of the outer part of the coma was slightly redder than the inner region.

"This color change is unusual in comets, and seems to imply that the inner part contains some water ice grains, which sublimate as they move away from the nucleus," Li said.

First discovered in September 2012, Comet ISON was already active at the time despite being farther from the Sun than Jupiter.

Sungrazers are known to burst into a tremendous amount of dust as they draw close to the Sun, the heat causing not only their ice but silicates and even meals to sublimate.

Current projections estimate Comet ISON will be much brighter than most when it reaches the Sun this winter -- hence its prestigious title of comet of the century, though whether or not it will live up to it has yet to be seen.

For researchers, such an explosion represents far more than an exciting visual display, Li explains.

"As a first-time visitor to the inner solar system, Comet C/ISON provides astronomers a rare opportunity to study a fresh comet preserved since the formation of the Solar System," Li said. "The expected high brightness of the comet as it nears the Sun allows for many important measurements that are impossible for most other fresh comets."

The findings were presented at the American Astronomical Society's Division for Planetary Sciences 45th Annual Meeting in Denver this Wednesday.