New Comet Discovered—May Become "One of Brightest in History" [1]

National Geographic - Andrew Fazekas, 9/27/12

Next year comet 2012 S1 might outshine the moon.

Photograph by John Goldsmith [2], TWAN [3]

If astronomers' early predictions hold true, the holidays next year may hold a glowing gift for stargazers—a superbright comet [4], just discovered streaking near Saturn.

Even with powerful telescopes, comet 2012 S1 (ISON) is now just a faint glow in the constellation Cancer. But the ball of ice and rocks might become visible to the naked eye for a few months in late 2013 and early 2014—perhaps outshining the moon, astronomers say.

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