About 10,000 years ago, Comet ISON left our solar system's distant shell, a
region known as the Oort cloud, and began streaking toward the sun. This
November, the icy wanderer will reach the climax of its journey,
potentially providing a stunning skywatching show here on Earth.
last September by two Russian amateur astronomers. Scientists have since
recognized ISON as a possible "comet of the century," but to live up to its
promise, it will have to survive its dangerous perihelion, or closest
approach to the sun.
ISON is what's known as a sungrazing
comet.
These
suicidal objects have orbits that bring them within 850,000 miles of the
sun, and scientists estimate that ISON's closest pass will be about 730,000
miles above the surface of Earth's star.
Read more:
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/07/18/comet-century-comet-ison-faces-risky-road/#ixzz2ZOyAKxA7
I've always found the concept of capturing a comet interesting and potentially very easy. Here is the idea, a comet is coming in for a close pass of the Sun, so we send a ship to the comet ahead of time with essentially a large kevlar bag with a hole on one end. As everyone knows, as comets come in closer to the Sun their volatiles come off in the form of the tail. Instead of wasting that material from the tail, encase the comet in a kevlar bag or some other material and 'point' the hole in the opposite direction you want to go. Essentially turning the comets volatile derived tail into a rocket. Most likely into a more circular orbit, closer to Earth, though obviously not too close, for use by space settlements. (If you are ambitious you could even crash it (or land it) into a lunar pole or if you are terraforming, into the Mars surface.)
Brooks