HIGH POINT, N.C., Nov. 22, 2013 – If you look closely and are up before sunrise, you may be able to see the comet ISON as it moves toward the sun. A High Point University professor and two students are studying the comet for a class research project. On Thanksgiving Day, the comet will make its closest approach to the sun, and if it survives, will become much brighter and more visible to the naked eye in early December, fading quickly below naked-eye brightness around Christmas.
Dr. Brad Barlow, assistant professor of astrophysics, and freshmen Aaron Marlowe and Sam Gordon have been observing the comet for several weeks using the robotic PROMPT telescopes in Chile.
Depending on whether the comet remains intact as it approaches the sun, ISON has the potential to be one of the brightest comets visible in several years.