Comet C/2012 S1, known as ISON, was found in September 2012 by the Russian astronomers Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok, using a telescope of the International Scientific Optical Network near Kislovodsk. It was a sungrazing comet coming from the Oort cloud on its first visit to the inner Solar System, and early estimates suggested it might become exceptionally bright, drawing wide public interest. As it approached the Sun in November 2013, it began to break up and largely disintegrated close to its perihelion, so the display never matched the predictions. The remnants faded rapidly. Its fate was a reminder of how hard it is to predict the behavior of newly discovered comets.
Before and after
- 16 August 2012Marikana miners' strike
- 25 August 2012Death of Neil Armstrong
- 25 August 2012Voyager 1 enters interstellar space
- 16 September 2012Arctic sea ice reaches a record low
- 21 September 2012Discovery of C/2012 S1
- 29 September 2012Death of Hebe Camargo
- 1 October 2012Creation of TypeScript
- from 10 October 2012 to 28 January 2020Premiere of Arrow
- from 22 October 2012 to 2 November 2012Hurricane Sandy
More in Universe & space
- 22 June 1978Discovery of Charon
- 20 January 1986Discovery of Ophelia
- 19 February 1986Launch of Mir
- 1998Supernovae show that cosmic expansion is accelerating
- 20 November 1998Launch of International Space Station
- 10 April 2019The first image of a black hole
The era
This moment belongs to the Contemporary world (1945 CE to today), the world since 1945. You can also browse everything in the 21st century.