DUBAI // Cloudy weather prevented stargazers catching a once-in-a-lifetime glimpse of a comet as it flew past the sun.
More than 180 people spent Monday evening at Zubair camp, just outside Dubai, hoping to spot Comet Ison, but poor visibility due to cloud cover and the early morning sunrise scuppered their viewing.
“It was always dependent on the weather and although we had been hopeful of seeing Ison it didn’t work out,” said Hasan Al Hariri, president of Dubai Astronomy Group.
The comet is expected to reach perihelion – the point when it is closest to the sun – on Thursday. It will be 730,000 miles from the star’s surface.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime event because comets are so rare,” he said. “It is heading towards the sun and will reach perihelion on Thursday.
“We aren’t sure if it will survive the encounter and there is a chance that the sun’s gravitational forces will break it up.”
Ison is classed as a sungrazing comet because it will get so close.
Excited scientists say the event will offer a glimpse into the history of the solar system.
“According to rock-dating, the Earth is about 4.5 billion years old, but Ison is older at around 4.7bn years,” Mr Al Hariri said.
“This means it’s made of the primordial material that made the Earth and we will be able to study and learn more about how our planet was formed.”
Scientists hope to discover more about the origins of our solar system by studying what it is made of and how it reacts to the hostile environment near the sun.
“Ison isn’t as active as we thought it would be, which leads me to think that it’s more likely to be made of rock, so there is a good chance it won’t break up,” Mr Al Hariri said.
“If it survives the sun it will be slingshot out of our solar system never to return.”
Experts believe Ison originated in the Oort Cloud, an area of space surrounding our solar system thought to be made up of billions of ice and rock asteroids.
The comet measures five kilometres across and has a double tail that comprises billions of microscopic particles of dust that are made visible when they reflect the sun’s light.
Despite its size Ison can travel 7,260km in 20 seconds.
Next year, the European Space Agency is planning to land the Rosetta spacecraft on the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
“This is the first time it has been attempted and what is really exciting is that we could detect amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein,” Mr Al Hariri said.
“There are also theories that Earth’s oceans were filled by comets carrying water and ice, so the probe could also detect that, too.”
Despite missing the comet, the stargazers at Zubair were able to see Jupiter and Mars.
Dubai Astronomy Group is working with National Geographic Abu Dhabi, which is set to broadcast Comet of the Century on Thursday at 10pm to mark the moment Ison reaches perihelion.
nhanif@thenational.ae