Provided that the world does not end in December of 2012, you might have the opportunity to view a particularly impressive comet around Christmastime in 2013. The poetically named C/2012 S1 (ISON) will pass at a-safe-yet-great-for-viewing distance from Earth, after first passing close to the Sun — a combination that promises to produce a beautiful tail and fabulous comet-spotting opportunities, especially in the Northern Hemisphere.

  • Brainspore

    How can we figure out the optimal positioning of all those baby Jesus manger scenes so that the comet appears directly overhead?

    • Bearpaw01

      1) Wait until comet appears in sky.
      2) Position manger scene appropriately.
      3) Adjust position every evening as necessary.

      4) Prophet!

  • GawainLavers

    Naturally, there’s no possible way that our synchronization between the calendar and the Mayan calendar is off by a year, or that we could be off by 0.4au on the approach vector of the comet.

  • http://twitter.com/debkwan Deborah Kwan

    Watch Night of the Comet before planning your comet viewing parties..