Gemini Observations of Comet ISON

Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) visits close to the Sun later this year, with predictions for good visibility in the morning sky in November and December. Astronomers Karen Meech et al. (University of Hawai‘i Institute for Astronomy) are already using Gemini to study the comet, observing variations in brightness as layers of volatile material are released. The comet became fainter in April, which may be showing that a less active layer is now exposed after removing the volatile ice covering in its first passage from the Oort Cloud to the inner Solar System. More information and higher resolution images are available from Gemini press/image release.