Previously unseen celestial object will stun stargazers next
November Late next year, there will be a new object in the night
sky nearly 10 times brighter than the full moon. This temporary
attraction, called C/2012 S1, is a comet that has likely never
passed through our inner solar system before, so it's larger and
more reflective than those our sun has already blasted. C/2012
S1 won't just be bright; it'll be large enough to see without
the need for binoculars or a telescope. Its brightness magnitude
is expected to be -16, with the Sun by comparison being -26.
Comet Hale-Bopp, seen above, was magnitude -1 when it passed
through our solar system in 1997. Astronomers are predicting
that C/2012 S1 will appear in the sky near the sun and horizon,
so it should be fairly easy to pinpoint without a sky map.
Should it contain a large amount of gas beneath its icy
exterior, the comet could sprout a massive glowing tail as it
nears the sun and the ice is melted away, making it even easier
to see — not to mention much