US micro-observatory captures images of comet ISON

Washington: A retired teacher Bruce Mellin has clicked new pictures of comet ISON with the help of MicroObservatory`s "Donald" telescope in Arizona.

Comet ISON recently brightened and is currently visible with telescopes or binoculars in the constellation Virgo. The animated gif combines two separate 60-second exposures of ISON and shows the comet moving against a background of stars. The comet displays a fuzzy round coma and a tail extending to upper right beyond the edge of the frame. These photos were taken on the morning of Saturday. The 650 by 500 pixel images show an area of the sky 0.9 by 0.7 degree in size. MicroObservatory is a network of automated telescopes, developed by Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics scientists and educators, which can be controlled over the Internet. They were designed to enable students and teachers nationwide to investigate the wonders of the deep sky from their classrooms or after-school centers.