Planets and Moons  ID: 4098

Chasing Comet ISON

Visualizations by Tom Bridgman Released on September 24, 2013
Comet ISON approaches the inner solar system having just passed the orbit of Jupiter. It passes very close to Mars in early October 2013 before dipping below the ecliptic on its way towards perihelion on November 28, 2013. Comet ISON will make its closest pass to the Earth in January 2014 when it should be visible in the northern hemisphere.

In these movies, the cameras chase the comet from two different points of view.

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This visualization shows comet ISON's approach to perihelion from a point of view perpendicular to the orbit plane of the comet.
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This visualization shows comet ISON's approach to perihelion from a point of view along the comet's orbit.
 

Related

How to Cook a Comet
The Path of Comet ISON
Comet ISON Approaches Perihelion

Visualization Credits

Tom Bridgman (Global Science and Technology, Inc.): Lead Animator
Scott Wiessinger (USRA): Producer
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4098

Data Used:
JPL DE421 also referred to as: DE421
Ephemeris - NASA/JPL
Planetary ephemerides
view all stories where this data set is used
Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details nor the data sets themselves on our site.

This item is part of these series:
Astrophysics Visualizations
Comet ISON's Journey into the Light

Keywords:
SVS >> Comet
SVS >> HDTV
SVS >> Simulation
SVS >> Hyperwall
SVS >> Astrophysics
SVS >> Space
SVS >> Solar System >> Planetary Orbits
NASA Science >> Planets and Moons