Observing circumstances for 2012 S1 (ISON)

News

2013 February 23.  Pages created in draft.  Not all links (indeed most) will not work yet.
2013 March 10.  Images added

Observing diagrams

To see the full resolution diagram click on a thumbnail. The diagrams were generated using the GraphDark software written by Richard Fleet.
  50°N 30°N 10°N 10°S 30°S
2013 March -
2014 May		 12s150na.png (36248 bytes) 12s130na.png (34879 bytes) 12s110na.png (30694 bytes) 12s110sa.png (29775 bytes) 12s130sa.png (29493 bytes)
2013 June -
2014 August		 12s150nb.png (36831 bytes) 12s130nb.png (33588 bytes) 12s110nb.png (29898 bytes) 12s110sb.png (28664 bytes) 12s130sb.png (28420 bytes)

Ephemerides

2012s1.jpg (423015 bytes) Ephemerides for 2012 S1 (ISON) at 50°N , 40°N , 30°N , 10°N , 10°S , 30°S and 50°S which give 1950 and J2000 positions and approximate observing windows for the period 2013 February 23 until 2014 August 31. The light curve is a complex function of the comet's composition, shape, active area, rotation rate and season.  I have chosen to approximate the magnitudes using the equation m = 5.3 + 5 log d + 7.5 log r.  The comet may brighten more slowly or more quickly than indicated here and the true light curve can only be determined after observations confirm the comet's behaviour.  

Projected light curve.  Note:
a)  The error bars are huge.  The perihelion brightness can take just about any value.
b)  On any reasonable projection of brightness increase the light curve will be fairly flat at the moment.  It is therefore not possible to make definitive statements about the comet's current performance.
c)  The fitted curve appears above the observed points as it has been corrected for aperture in order to predict the naked eye brightness.

Guidance

  • Faulkes Telescope observing notes.
  • Comparison star charts

Meetings

A workshop on ground-based support for Rosetta was held at University College, London on 2012 April 17 and 18.  Meeting notes.

There was a joint Asteroids and Remote Planets Section and Comet Section meeting on 2012 October 6.  This was held in Milton Keynes and included discussion of Rosetta.  For the meeting notes see The Comet's Tale for 2012

There is a Comet Section meeting on 2013 May 18 to discuss observing techniques.  

We hope to obtain EU funding to support a pro-am European meeting prior to the Rosetta encounter.

Links

  • Europlanet.
  • Sign-up to the Matrix [not yet available]

EU National Groups

Published by jds [at] ast.cam.ac.uk