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Possible Supercomet Headed Our Way in 2013

The just-discovered C/2012 S1 ISON could set a new standard for cometary brilliance.

A comet discovered just a few days ago is causing a big buzz in astronomy circles this week. 

According to Astronomy magazine, the cumbersomely named Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) was discovered in images taken September 21 by a Belarussian astronomer, Vitali Nevski, and a Russian astronomer, Artyom Novichonok. 

Right now, Comet ISON is still out beyond the orbit of Jupiter and can only be seen with large telescopes. It's getting closer, though. Universe Today reports that it will make its closest approach to the Sun on November 28, 2013. If, as Earthsky.org notes, it manages to avoid breaking into pieces as it approaches the sun, it should become visible to the naked eye by next November. 

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By Christmas 2013, it could easily outshine Venus and light up the northern sky as brightly as the full moon. Nativity plays might want to consider staging outdoors to take advantage of this natural stand-in for the Biblical "Star of Bethlehem."

It's been a while since a really spectacular comet came our way. Comets Hyakutake and Hale-Bopp gave us back to back displays of brilliance in 1996 and 1997, but the comets that crossed the threshold of naked-eye visibility in the Northern Hemisphere since have been dim smudges or smears noticed mainly by habitual skywatchers. The most famous comet, Halley's Comet, last made an understated visit in 1986 and won't return to our neighborhood until 2061. From the sound of things, ISON could set the bar to a new height.

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We're sure to hear a lot more about Comet C/2012 S1 ISON (Anyone else think "Comet Nevski-Novichonok" might be nicer?) in the coming weeks and months. Like most scientists, though, astronomers are wary of hype.

Bill Gray of the Planetary Society writes that ISON has a "30 percent chance of being awesome." "Potentially it will be amazing. Potentially it will be a huge dud," astronomer Karl Battams of the Naval Research Laboratory told NBC News.

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