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The biggest comet of 21st century nearing Sun

25 November 2013 09:35 (UTC +04:00)

Scientific secretary of Shamakhy Astrophysical Observatory named after Nasiraddin Tusi of the National Academy of Sciences Vagif Khalilov told APA that the diameter of the ISON is big and it is distinguished by its brightness. Khalilov said the comet 3km in diameter will be observed from Shamakhy Astrophysical Observatory from mid-January.

The comet will near the Earth on December 26. Khalilov said the comet was discovered in September, 2012. Currently it is nearing the Sun. According to suppositions, the brightest comet of the 21st century will be as bright as the Moon. November, December and January are the most favourable times to observe it.

Vagif Khalilov said on December 26 it will be about 60 million km from the Earth.

One can observe the ISON comet from the observatory every day before the Sun rises.

“The best time for observation is January 5-10. At that time the comet will begin to move away from the Sun and after that normal observations will be available every evening,” he said.

The scientific secretary said the comet will not affect the Earth.