A live Ustream feed of the Quadrantid shower will be embedded below on the nights of Jan. 2-4. The camera is mounted at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. During the day you will see either pre-recorded footage or a blank box -- the camera is light-activated and turns on at dusk.
At the moment it is a faint object, visible only in sophisticated telescopes as a point of light moving slowly against the background stars. But this one is being tracked with eager anticipation by astronomers from around the world, and in a year everyone could know its name.
Comet Ison could draw millions out into the dark to witness what could be the brightest comet seen in many generations – brighter even than the full Moon.
By the end of summer it will become visible in small telescopes and binoculars. By late November it will be visible to the unaided eye just after dark in the same direction as the setting Sun. Its tail could stretch like a searchlight into the sky above the horizon. It could be an "unaided eye" object for months.
Remarkably Ison might not be the only spectacular comet visible next year. Another comet, called 2014 L4 (PanSTARRS), was discovered last year and in March and April it could also be a magnificent object in the evening sky.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
A live Ustream feed of the Quadrantid shower will be embedded below on the nights of Jan. 2-4. The camera is mounted at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. During the day you will see either pre-recorded footage or a blank box -- the camera is light-activated and turns on at dusk.
At the moment it is a faint object, visible only in sophisticated telescopes as a point of light moving slowly against the background stars. But this one is being tracked with eager anticipation by astronomers from around the world, and in a year everyone could know its name.
Comet Ison could draw millions out into the dark to witness what could be the brightest comet seen in many generations – brighter even than the full Moon.
By the end of summer it will become visible in small telescopes and binoculars. By late November it will be visible to the unaided eye just after dark in the same direction as the setting Sun. Its tail could stretch like a searchlight into the sky above the horizon. It could be an "unaided eye" object for months.
Remarkably Ison might not be the only spectacular comet visible next year. Another comet, called 2014 L4 (PanSTARRS), was discovered last year and in March and April it could also be a magnificent object in the evening sky.
