14 DAY TRIAL // Astronomers announce that comet (2P/Encke), also known as Encke's Comet, is currently very close to reaching its perihelion, which is its point of closest approach to the Sun. According to the latest measurements, the event will take place on November 21, just one week before Comet ISON reaches its perihelion as well.
Encke's Comet is nicknamed Old Faithful, since it come close to the Sun, and therefore in our full view, once every 3.3 years. While other objects in its class have very complex trajectories, Encke flies fairly straightforward, as it is spared Jupiter's enormous gravitational influence.
Astronomers have been observing this comet since January 17, 1786, when French comet enthusiast Pierre Méchain first noticed it. Interestingly, the comet takes 10 years to complete three full revolutions around the Sun, during each of which its apparent position in the sky changes, Space reports.
The consensus in the scientific community is that Encke's Comet is depleted of its original ices, thus explaining the lack of any impressive tail. After moving so close to the Sun several thousand times, maybe more, the object is now most likely made up of compact silicate residues only.