14 DAY TRIAL // Comet ISON still has quite a few more weeks before it lights up the sky, but things are looking up, so to speak. From the looks of it, the comet will survive its close encounter with the sun, so it should put up quite a show. Astronomers have been tentatively calling it the "comet of the century."
Comet ISON, or C/2012 S1 (ISON), is making its first trip around the sun from the distant and cold Oort cloud that surrounds our solar system.
This is a good thing, since it's still brimming with ice and rock which will melt away as it approaches the sun, creating a wonderful spectacle. But it also means that it may just as well break up once it gets too close to the sun.
ISON is still 1.48 AU (221 million km, 138 million miles) from the sun and 1.90AU (~284 million km, 177 million miles) from Earth. It just passed Mars and is now on its way towards the sun. It should get closest in about 50 days.
