Comet Ison destroyed in Sun passage

[Ruby the Liberal]

30. She's not dead yet, Jim

Washington Post: Did Comet ISON survive? Scientists see tiny hope.

STOCKHOLM — Scientists were studying spacecraft images Friday to find out whether a small part of Comet ISON survived its close encounter with the sun.

The comet at first seemed to have fallen apart as it approached the sun’s sizzling surface, but new images showed a streak of light moving away from the sun that some said could indicate it wasn’t game over just yet.

“It certainly appears as if there is an object there that is emitting material,” said Alan Fitzsimmons, an astronomer at Queens University in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

The European Space Agency, which had declared ISON’s death on Twitter late Thursday, was backtracking early Friday, saying the comet “continues to surprise.”