The space boulder is currently on its way to meet with the Sun later this month

Nov 19, 2013 14:53 GMT  ·  By

Astronomers with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) have just released a new image of Comet ISON traveling towards its perihelion – its point of closest approach to the Sun. The photo was collected using the MicroObservatory robotic telescope system.

Bruce Mellin, a retired teacher, used the Arizona-based system this Saturday (November 16), to catch the comet as it makes its way towards the inner solar system. ISON will reach its perihelion on November 28, and bets are still on as to whether or not it will survive its close encounter with the Sun.

What makes these low-resolution images so interesting is the fact that they were collected using a network of automated telescopes controlled through the Internet. CfA investigators set up this system so that students and educators from around the country can image objects in the night sky.

Comet ISON is currently traveling at a speed of around 19,300 kilometers (120,000 miles) per hour. If you want to see a model of the path it will take through the solar system, and where every planet will be at its perihelion, then I recommend this online tool published by Solar System Scope.