Mark Hammergren, astronomer at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, is photographed September 12, 2013, with an image of the comet ISON on his computer.
The jury is still out on whether stargazers will be able to spot the “comet of the century” on Thanksgiving night.
On Monday, scientists observed a decreased light emission from the ISON comet, as it is officially called, which could mean that the icy lump of gravel and rocks has broken apart on its trajectory towards the sun, The Wire reports.
However, the comet’s close fly-by of the star makes it difficult to study, so no clear answers of its fate will be given until Thursday, when ISON, if it’s still around, will have orbited the sun and is scheduled for a low-altitude passage over the earth.
“The last time we saw an object like this was never!” says the NASA ISON Comet Observing Campaign, which is keeping hopes high by hosting a Google Hangout on Thursday, aptly named ‘Fire vs. ISON.’
[The Wire]