Hubble Witnesses an Asteroid Mysteriously Disintegrating

Though fragile comet nuclei have been seen falling apart as they near the Sun, nothing like the slow breakup of an asteroid has ever before been observed in the asteroid belt. A series of Hubble Space Telescope images shows that the fragments are drifting away from each other at a leisurely one mile per hour. This makes it unlikely that the asteroid is disintegrating because of a collision with another asteroid. A plausible explanation is that the asteroid is crumbling due to a subtle effect of sunlight. This causes the rotation rate to slowly increase until centrifugal force pulls the asteroid apart. The asteroid's remnant debris, weighing in at 200,000 tons, will in the future provide a rich source of meteoroids. Hubble Observation of P/2013 R3 - November 15, 2013 Credit: NASA, ESA, and D. Jewitt (University of California, Los Angeles) Read more: <a href="http://1.usa.gov/1ig2E0x" rel="nofollow">1.usa.gov/1ig2E0x</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

Hubble Witnesses an Asteroid Mysteriously Disintegrating

Though fragile comet nuclei have been seen falling apart as they near the Sun, nothing like the slow breakup of an asteroid has ever before been observed in the asteroid belt. A series of Hubble Space Telescope images shows that the fragments are drifting away from each other at a leisurely one mile per hour. This makes it unlikely that the asteroid is disintegrating because of a collision with another asteroid. A plausible explanation is that the asteroid is crumbling due to a subtle effect of sunlight. This causes the rotation rate to slowly increase until centrifugal force pulls the asteroid apart. The asteroid's remnant debris, weighing in at 200,000 tons, will in the future provide a rich source of meteoroids. Hubble Observation of P/2013 R3 - November 15, 2013 Credit: NASA, ESA, and D. Jewitt (University of California, Los Angeles) Read more: <a href="http://1.usa.gov/1ig2E0x" rel="nofollow">1.usa.gov/1ig2E0x</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

This artist concept depicts a comet-like tail of a possible disintegrating super Mercury-size planet candidate as it transits, or crosses, its parent star, named KIC 12557548. The results are based on data from NASA Kepler mission.

Possible Disintegrating Planet Artist Concept

Hubble Witnesses an Asteroid Mysteriously Disintegrating

This series of images shows the asteroid P/2013 R3 breaking apart, as viewed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in 2013. This is the first time that such a body has been seen to undergo this kind of break-up. The Hubble observations showed that there are ten distinct objects, each with comet-like dust tails, embedded within the asteroid's dusty envelope. The four largest rocky fragments are up to 200 metres in radius, about twice the length of a football pitch. The date increases from left to right, with frames from 29 October 2013, 15 November 2013, 13 December 2013, and 14 January 2014 respectively, showing how the clumps of debris material move around. The 14 January 2014 frame was not included in the science paper and is additional data. Credit: NASA, ESA, D. Jewitt (UCLA) Read more: <a href="http://1.usa.gov/1ig2E0x" rel="nofollow">1.usa.gov/1ig2E0x</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

NASA Spitzer Space Telescope set its infrared eyes upon the dusty remains of shredded asteroids around several dead stars. This artist concept illustrates a white dwarf, surrounded by the bits and pieces of a disintegrating asteroid.

Asteroid Bites the Dust Around Dead Star Artist Concept

Asteroid 2018 LA

Wilkins Ice Shelf

The Wilkins Ice Shelf, as seen by NASA Terra spacecraft, on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula, experienced multiple disintegration events in 2008. By the beginning of 2009, a narrow ice bridge was all that remained to connect the ice shelf to ice fragments fringing nearby Charcot Island. That bridge gave way in early April 2009. Days after the ice bridge rupture, on April 12, 2009, the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA's Terra satellite acquired this image of the southern base of the ice bridge, where it connected with the remnant ice shelf. Although the ice bridge has played a role in stabilizing the ice fragments in the region, its rupture doesn't guarantee the ice will immediately move away. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA11991

Docking Mechanism on Progress 52

ISS038-E-041175 (3 Feb. 2014) --- This close-up view shows the docking mechanism of the unpiloted Russian ISS Progress 52 resupply ship as it undocks from the International Space Station's Pirs Docking Compartment at 11:21 a.m. (EST) on Feb. 3, 2014. The Progress backed away to a safe distance from the orbital complex to begin several days of tests to study thermal effects of space on its attitude control system. Filled with trash and other unneeded items, the Russian resupply ship will be commanded to re-enter Earth's atmosphere Feb. 11 and disintegrate harmlessly over the Pacific Ocean.

NASA Hubble Sees Comet ISON Intact

This image from NASA Hubble Space Telescope of the sunward plunging comet ISON suggests that the comet is intact despite some predictions that the fragile icy nucleus might disintegrate as the sun warms it. In this NASA Hubble Space Telescope image taken on October 9, 2013 the comet's solid nucleus is unresolved because it is so small. If the nucleus broke apart then Hubble would have likely seen evidence for multiple fragments. Moreover, the coma or head surrounding the comet's nucleus is symmetric and smooth. This would probably not be the case if clusters of smaller fragments were flying along. What's more, a polar jet of dust first seen in Hubble images taken in April is no longer visible and may have turned off. This color composite image was assembled using two filters. The comet's coma appears cyan, a greenish-blue color due to gas, while the tail is reddish due to dust streaming off the nucleus. The tail forms as dust particles are pushed away from the nucleus by the pressure of sunlight. The comet was inside Mars' orbit and 177 million miles from Earth when photographed. Comet ISON is predicted to make its closest approach to Earth on 26 December, at a distance of 39.9 million miles. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA18153

Earth Observations taken by the Expedition 16 Crew

ISS016-E-023198 (15 Jan. 2008) --- A portion of Mega-iceberg A53a in the South Atlantic Ocean is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 16 crewmember on the International Space Station. At the time this image was taken in mid-January 2008, the entire iceberg measured close to 50 kilometers x 22 kilometers, about seven times the area of Manhattan Island. Icebergs of the Southern Atlantic Ocean contain rock material from Antarctica, eroded by the moving ice and also as wind-borne dust from deserts in Africa, South America and Australia. According to NASA scientists, the finest powdery rock material acts as nutrient for sea organisms. As icebergs melt, the surrounding seawater is enriched. The area of enrichment is significantly enlarged when a mega-iceberg disintegrates into many small pieces.

Earth Observations taken by the Expedition 16 Crew

ISS016-E-023196 (15 Jan. 2008) --- A portion of Mega-iceberg A53a in the South Atlantic Ocean is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 16 crewmember on the International Space Station. At the time this image was taken in mid-January 2008, the entire iceberg measured close to 50 kilometers x 22 kilometers, about seven times the area of Manhattan Island. Icebergs of the Southern Atlantic Ocean contain rock material from Antarctica, eroded by the moving ice and also as wind-borne dust from deserts in Africa, South America and Australia. According to NASA scientists, the finest powdery rock material acts as nutrient for sea organisms. As icebergs melt, the surrounding seawater is enriched. The area of enrichment is significantly enlarged when a mega-iceberg disintegrates into many small pieces.

Earth Observations taken by the Expedition 16 Crew

ISS016-E-023197 (15 Jan. 2008) --- A portion of Mega-iceberg A53a in the South Atlantic Ocean is featured in this image photographed by an Expedition 16 crewmember on the International Space Station. At the time this image was taken in mid-January 2008, the entire iceberg measured close to 50 kilometers x 22 kilometers, about seven times the area of Manhattan Island. Icebergs of the Southern Atlantic Ocean contain rock material from Antarctica, eroded by the moving ice and also as wind-borne dust from deserts in Africa, South America and Australia. According to NASA scientists, the finest powdery rock material acts as nutrient for sea organisms. As icebergs melt, the surrounding seawater is enriched. The area of enrichment is significantly enlarged when a mega-iceberg disintegrates into many small pieces.

ATV reentry

ISS033-E-009232 (3 Oct. 2012) --- This still photo taken by the Expedition 33 crew members aboard the International Space Station shows evidence of the fiery plunge through Earth?s atmosphere and the destructive re-entry of the European Automated Transfer Vehicle-3 (ATV-3) spacecraft, also known as ?Edoardo Amaldi.? The end of the ATV took place over a remote swath of the Pacific Ocean where any surviving debris safely splashed down a short time later, at around 1:30 a.m. (GMT) on Oct. 3, thus concluding the highly successful ATV-3 mission. Aboard the craft during re-entry was the Re Entry Breakup Recorder (REBR), a spacecraft ?black box? designed to gather data on vehicle disintegration during re-entry in order to improve future spacecraft re-entry models.

NASA Telescopes Join Forces To Observe Unprecedented Explosion

NASA image releaes April 6, 2011 This is a visible-light image of GRB 110328A's host galaxy (arrow) taken on April 4 by the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3. The galaxy is 3.8 billion light-years away. Credit: NASA/ESA/A. Fruchter (STScI) NASA's Swift, Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory have teamed up to study one of the most puzzling cosmic blasts yet observed. More than a week later, high-energy radiation continues to brighten and fade from its location. Astronomers say they have never seen anything this bright, long-lasting and variable before. Usually, gamma-ray bursts mark the destruction of a massive star, but flaring emission from these events never lasts more than a few hours. Although research is ongoing, astronomers say that the unusual blast likely arose when a star wandered too close to its galaxy's central black hole. Intense tidal forces tore the star apart, and the infalling gas continues to stream toward the hole. According to this model, the spinning black hole formed an outflowing jet along its spin axis. A powerful blast of X- and gamma rays is seen if this jet is pointed in our direction. To read more go to: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/star-disintegration.." rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/star-disintegration..</a>. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook

NASA Telescopes Join Forces To Observe Unprecedented Explosion

NASA image release April 6, 2011 Images from Swift's Ultraviolet/Optical (white, purple) and X-ray telescopes (yellow and red) were combined in this view of GRB 110328A. The blast was detected only in X-rays, which were collected over a 3.4-hour period on March 28. Credit: NASA/Swift/Stefan Immler NASA's Swift, Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory have teamed up to study one of the most puzzling cosmic blasts yet observed. More than a week later, high-energy radiation continues to brighten and fade from its location. Astronomers say they have never seen anything this bright, long-lasting and variable before. Usually, gamma-ray bursts mark the destruction of a massive star, but flaring emission from these events never lasts more than a few hours. Although research is ongoing, astronomers say that the unusual blast likely arose when a star wandered too close to its galaxy's central black hole. Intense tidal forces tore the star apart, and the infalling gas continues to stream toward the hole. According to this model, the spinning black hole formed an outflowing jet along its spin axis. A powerful blast of X- and gamma rays is seen if this jet is pointed in our direction. To read more go to: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/star-disintegration.." rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/star-disintegration..</a>. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook

Venus - Crater Stefania in N. Sedna Planitia

This image from NASA Magellan spacecraft is of Crater Stephania, located at 51.3 degrees latitude, 333.3 degrees longitude in northern Sedna Planitia on Venus. With a diameter of 11 kilometers (6.8 miles) it is one of the smaller craters on Venus. Because many small meteoroids disintegrate during their passage through the dense atmosphere, there is an absence of craters smaller than 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) in diameter, and even craters smaller than 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) are relatively scarce. The apron of ejected material suggests that the impacting body made contact with the surface from an oblique angle. Upon closer observation it is possible to delineate secondary craters, impact scars from blocks ejected from the primary crater. A feature associated with this and many other Venusian craters is a radar-dark halo. Since dark radar return signifies a smooth surface, it has been hypothesized that an intense shock wave removed or pulverized previously rough surface material or that a blanket of fine material was deposited during or after the impact. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00475

NASA's Hubble Spots a Relic from a Shredded Galaxy

February 17, 2012: Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope may have found evidence for a cluster of young, blue stars encircling HLX-1, one of the first intermediate-mass black holes ever discovered. Astronomers believe the black hole may once have been at the core of a now-disintegrated dwarf galaxy. The discovery of the black hole and the possible star cluster has important implications for understanding the evolution of supermassive black holes and galaxies To read more go to: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/shredded-relic.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/hubble/science/shredded-relic....</a> Credit: NASA, ESA, and S. Farrell (Sydney Institute for Astronomy, University of Sydney) <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

NASA Telescopes Join Forces To Observe Unprecedented Explosion

NASA image release April 6, 2011 NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory completed this four-hour exposure of GRB 110328A on April 4. The center of the X-ray source corresponds to the very center of the host galaxy imaged by Hubble (red cross). Credit: NASA/CXC/ Warwick/A. Levan NASA's Swift, Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory have teamed up to study one of the most puzzling cosmic blasts yet observed. More than a week later, high-energy radiation continues to brighten and fade from its location. Astronomers say they have never seen anything this bright, long-lasting and variable before. Usually, gamma-ray bursts mark the destruction of a massive star, but flaring emission from these events never lasts more than a few hours. Although research is ongoing, astronomers say that the unusual blast likely arose when a star wandered too close to its galaxy's central black hole. Intense tidal forces tore the star apart, and the infalling gas continues to stream toward the hole. According to this model, the spinning black hole formed an outflowing jet along its spin axis. A powerful blast of X- and gamma rays is seen if this jet is pointed in our direction. To read more go to: <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/star-disintegration.html" rel="nofollow">www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/star-disintegration...</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Join us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a>

Comet Plunge and CME on the Sun

A small comet was streaking towards the Sun when the Sun blew out a "halo" coronal mass ejection (CME) Aug. 19-20, 2013). The CME originated from the far side of the Sun and did not have any interaction with the comet. The comet, only perhaps 30 meters across, was not seen after it went out of view, likely disintegrated by the heat and radiation from the Sun. We call this a "full halo" CME since the front edge of the CME is expanding in all directions around the Sun like a halo. The images were taken by SOHO's coronagraphs in which a disk (red) blocks the Sun and some of the area around it so we can see faint structures beyond that. Here we superimposed the Sun from NASA's SDO. The movie covers about five hours of activity and can be seen here: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/9601034896/">www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/9601034896/</a> Credit: NASA/Goddard/SOHO <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

NASA Investigating the Life of Comet ISON

Comet ISON comes in from the bottom right and moves out toward the upper right, growing more faint, in this time-lapse image from the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory. The image of the sun at the center is from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory. Credit: ESA/NASA/SOHO/SDO/GSFC After several days of fading, scientists continue to work to determine and to understand the fate of Comet ISON: There's no doubt that the comet shrank in size considerably as it rounded the sun and there's no doubt that something made it out on the other side to shoot back into space. The question remains as to whether the bright spot seen moving away from the sun was simply debris, or whether a small nucleus of the original ball of ice was still there. Regardless, it is likely that it is now only dust. Comet ISON, which began its journey from the Oort Cloud some 3 million years ago, made its closest approach to the sun on Nov. 28, 2013. The comet was visible in instruments on NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, or STEREO, and the joint European Space Agency/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or SOHO, via images called coronagraphs. Coronagraphs block out the sun and a considerable distance around it, in order to better observe the dim structures in the sun's atmosphere, the corona. As such, there was a period of several hours when the comet was obscured in these images, blocked from view along with the sun. During this period of time, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory could not see the comet, leading many scientists to surmise that the comet had disintegrated completely. However, something did reappear in SOHO and STEREO coronagraphs some time later – though it was significantly less bright. Read more: <a href="http://1.usa.gov/18hGYag" rel="nofollow">1.usa.gov/18hGYag</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a> Find us on <a href="http://instagram.com/nasagoddard?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a>

Air Force pilot Mike Adams poses in front of X-15-#1 after flight on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Air Force pilot Mike Adam poses with X-15 flown with NASA

Oct. 9 Hubble View of ISON

On Oct. 9, 2013, Hubble observed comet ISON once again, when it was inside the orbit of Mars, about 177 million miles from Earth. This image shows that the comet was still intact despite some predictions that the fragile icy nucleus might disintegrate closer to the sun. The comet will pass closest to the sun on Nov. 28, 2013. If the nucleus had broke apart then Hubble would have likely seen evidence of multiple fragments. Moreover, the coma, or head, surrounding the comet's nucleus is symmetric and smooth. This would probably not be the case if clusters of smaller fragments were flying along. This color composite image was assembled using two filters. The comet's coma appears cyan, a greenish-blue color due to gas, while the tail is reddish due to dust streaming off the nucleus. The tail forms as dust particles are pushed away from the nucleus by the pressure of sunlight. Credit: NASA -------- More details on Comet ISON: Comet ISON began its trip from the Oort cloud region of our solar system and is now travelling toward the sun. The comet will reach its closest approach to the sun on Thanksgiving Day -- 28 Nov 2013 -- skimming just 730,000 miles above the sun's surface. If it comes around the sun without breaking up, the comet will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere with the naked eye, and from what we see now, ISON is predicted to be a particularly bright and beautiful comet. Catalogued as C/2012 S1, Comet ISON was first spotted 585 million miles away in September 2012. This is ISON's very first trip around the sun, which means it is still made of pristine matter from the earliest days of the solar system’s formation, its top layers never having been lost by a trip near the sun. Comet ISON is, like all comets, a dirty snowball made up of dust and frozen gases like water, ammonia, methane and carbon dioxide -- some of the fundamental building blocks that scientists believe led to the formation of the planets 4.5 billion years ago. NASA has been using a vast fleet of spacecraft, instruments, and space- and Earth-based telescope, in order to learn more about this time capsule from when the solar system first formed. The journey along the way for such a sun-grazing comet can be dangerous. A giant ejection of solar material from the sun could rip its tail off. Before it reaches Mars -- at some 230 million miles away from the sun -- the radiation of the sun begins to boil its water, the first step toward breaking apart. And, if it survives all this, the intense radiation and pressure as it flies near the surface of the sun could destroy it altogether. This collection of images show ISON throughout that journey, as scientists watched to see whether the comet would break up or remain intact. The comet reaches its closest approach to the sun on Thanksgiving Day -- Nov. 28, 2013 -- skimming just 730,000 miles above the sun’s surface. If it comes around the sun without breaking up, the comet will be visible in the Northern Hemisphere with the naked eye, and from what we see now, ISON is predicted to be a particularly bright and beautiful comet. ISON stands for International Scientific Optical Network, a group of observatories in ten countries who have organized to detect, monitor, and track objects in space. ISON is managed by the Keldysh Institute of Applied Mathematics, part of the Russian Academy of Sciences. <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a> <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASA_GoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a> Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/39501