comet ison for dummies: the rudimentary basics of C/2012 S1

Prompted by a glp thread opened by AstraI Goat, I had researched the rudimentary basics of Comet Ison

Thread: THE COMET THAT WILL CHANGE US FOREVER: Comet ISON, What you need to know....

Because of some other information I've come acrossed, & some additional information provided by fellow glp'ers (linked below) ..... I've decided this is worthy of its own thread.

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C/2012 S1 was ‘discovered’ (I’m using that term loosely here) by the Russians & was officially announced to the world in Sept 2012. Depending on what site is referenced, it had first been photographed near the end of 2011 or early 2012 through one of the russian asteroid programs.

Follow-up observations came months later, using a reflecting telescope at their ‘International Scientific Optical Network’……The acronym stuck & comet ‘ISON’ was born.

Since that time, there seems to be as much conflicting information as there are agreed upon facts. Unfortunately, there’s sometimes no easy way to discern which.

The whole world is talking about this ‘comet of the century’ yet when you listen to the experts…… they all begin to sound like they’ve come down with a sudden case of ‘diarrhea of the mouth’ with one expert contradicting another to the point that you feel as if you’re watching some wretched tennis match.

If you’re not an astronomer or solar-tard, you’re left feeling more confused after listening to the experts than you were before they uttered their first words.

Celestial <anything> is not my strong suit….. and I’ve gotten so frustrated & angry with how these ‘experts’ (I’m also using this term loosely) are lying to the populous just to save their own collective asses. These people are truly the most self-serving, egotistical, lying, & manipulative breathing objects on this planet……. And I’m being ~kind~ in stopping there…..

For most of the people on this forum, or for those following this thread, this is probably gonna feel like repeating day 1 at kindergarten….. but allow me to share with others who may be walking in similar shoes as myself. People with little or no planetary expertise that are trying to sort thru the bullshit to (hopefully) find some answers.

ISON is a sun-grazing comet….. which is one of the few facts the ‘experts’ agree with.

What does that mean & why is that relevant?

A sun-grazing comet passes (grazes) at a very close proximity to the sun. Many evaporate or are destroyed because of the sun's intensity. When the experts started talking about ISON possibly ‘fizzling out’…… this is what they were referencing..... discussing whether ISON could/will make the orbit without being obliterated.

Sometimes, especially with the larger comets, they can ‘fragment’ themselves into 2 or more pieces. Which can also fragment with each subsequent orbit. One piece becoming 2…. 2 pieces becoming 6.

**keep ^^that^^ in mind while I continue**

The most famous sun-grazing comets were/are the ‘Kreutz’ sun-grazers which all originated from a single (and much larger) comet. These comets follow the same elliptical/orbital pathway…(called the kreutz path).

Depending on the source you’re referencing, 83-85% comets in this orbital path is said to be part of the ‘kreutz’ family – meaning, at one time they were part of the big guy but have since broken into smaller pieces.

Please note: I have found many articles stating unequivocally that ISON is ~NOT~ part of the kreutz family of comets. Most cite the main reason as being ISON is not following along in the kreutz orbital path-way.

I have also found many articles that make the claim that ISON’s path IS similar to the kreutz family of comets.

I am not a comet-tard, so discern for yourself, cuz I have no idea which is correct.

*kreutz comet family: [link to en.wikipedia.org]

*Ison: [link to en.wikipedia.org]

*parabola (elliptical) orbits: [link to en.wikipedia.org]

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OP referenced the ‘great comet’ of 1680 – so let’s go there next.

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<snipped>

…Late in the autumn of 1680 the good people of Manhattan were overcome with terror at a sight in the heavens…..

.....An enormous comet, perhaps the most magnificent one on record…..

…… the whole mass was growing brighter…..it reappeared like a blazing sun …….

……..threw out a tail in the opposite direction as far as the whole distance between the sun and the earth……

On the 20th of December, 1680…..It was a magnificent object, having a tail 90,000,000 miles in length.

…….at its perihelion we know that it was about one-sixth part of the sun’s diameter from his surface….

….about one-sixtieth part of our distance from it. …..

…….When it did reappear, after wheeling round the sun with a speed of 1,200,000 miles an hour, it had developed an enormous tail……

….. after carefully considering all the observations of the comet of 1680, came to the positive conclusion that it did move in a parabolic orbit with the sun in its focus……….

[link to www.jwwerner.com]

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<snipped>

The Great Comet of 1680 —This comet has an orbit strikingly similar to Comet ISON, begging the question of whether both objects are one and the same or at the very least are somehow related. Discovered on Nov. 14, 1680 by German astronomer Gottfried Kirsch, this was the first telescopic comet discovery in history. By Dec. 4, the comet was visible at magnitude +2 with a tail 15 degrees long.

A report from Albany, N.Y. indicated that it could be glimpsed in daylight passing above the sun.

In late December, it reappeared in the western evening sky, again of magnitude +2, and displaying a long tail that resembled a narrow beam of light that stretched for at least 70 degrees

[link to www.space.com]

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Some additional information:

Since sometime in early June, ISON has been hidden/obscured by the sun. This is the cause of all the speculation going on about what/how ISON is doing.

However, by the end of august, ISON will once again be visible using ground telescopes and more information should become available.

Then, in September, the comet should be visible enough to see using a decent pair of binoculars.

OP mentioned ions for a very important reason.

Once the comet loops back around the sun (like an arc), and assuming that it actually survives the trip and isn’t pulverized in the process by the sun’s force, ISON will be bombarded with MAJOR (ionizing) radiation. This will illuminate the comet, making it much easier to detect without high-powered and/or specialized equipment.

During the last week of November (around the 28th) ISON will make its closest approach to the sun.

Then around December 26th….. it will pass at its closest point to earth.

[link to www.space.com]

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I'm not sure what to make of this next grouping of information so perhaps someone with more knowledge can comment. I found this during my research & thought it too bizarre & way to coincidental to just dismiss it.

However, it could be just a whole lot of nothing.

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2013 (this year) – 1680 (great comet year) = 333 years

<snipped>

It was difficult to study the disease (bubonic plague) as it was highly infectious and death usually came (mercifully) within four days of the first signs of the illness. It is believed that priests and monks unwittingly spread the infection as they would go from home to home to perform last rites.

It is also estimated that 90% of priests and 75% of physicians died during the epidemic because of their willingness to minister and serve during the worst of the plague.

Eventually running its course in the 14th century, the plague reappeared in London in 1665, and Marseille in 1680.

While many died, it did not reach the same level of infection and death as the scourge of the 1300s did.

[link to healthdecide.orcahealth.com]

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1680 – 333 = 1347

<snipped>

The Black Death, the most severe epidemic in human history, ravaged Europe from 1347-1351. This plague killed entire families at a time and destroyed at least 1,000 villages.

[link to thenagain.info]

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1347 – 333 = 1014

<snipped>

In England 1014 AD, on the eve of St. Michael’s day (September 28, 1014) “came the great sea-flood, which spread wide over this land, and ran so far up as it never did before, overwhelming many towns, and an innumerable multitude of people.” This is clearly a reference to a tsunami similar to the one that struck Indonesia in December 2004 which killed over 250,000 people.

What could have caused this tsunami? Could a meteor or comet impact in the Atlantic Ocean have been the cause?

In other words, the evidence suggests that a comet or meteor slammed into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and ejected material from the bottom of the ocean which flew over 3800 kilometers and landed in the bog at Black Rock Forest in New York.

[link to www.freerepublic.com]

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1014 – 333 = 681

In 681 A.D.- Rome suffers a plague that kills thousands

[link to www.enotes.com]

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So the questions left are:

1. Is ISON on a 333 year orbit?

2. Is the comet of 1680 part of the kreutz family comets?

3. Is ISON part of the kreutz family?

4. Are the orbits of the kreutz comets somehow related to the plague epidemics experienced in the past? If so…..how?

5. The plague was already ~here~ but could the composition of the comet have weakened people’s immune system? Less able to fight off the infection? How is the plague connected to these comets?

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