#42:
​COMET C/2012 S1 (ISON)
COMET OF THE CENTURY?
Astronomical Sensationalism

• What is the significance of this comet in particular and the hype?
  
• Is Comet ISON will be the 'biggest of the century', is that true?
  
• How will this comet perhaps suggest any prophetic nuance?
  

by Luis B. Vega
for PostScripts News (PSN) | www.PostScripts.org
EMAIL: vegapost@hotmail.com

The purpose of this study is to highlight key features of comet ISON. For amateur enthusiasts, this finding is of great importance and excitement. Its timing and significance can be a clue as to how world events might be affected by it. Some are proposing that this comet is prophetic as it has some unique attributes to dates and particular positioning on its ecliptic journey. The online chart by the same name that accompanies this study will illustrate an approximation of what it will look like as comet ISON traverses the Ecliptic path that the comet will be taking from Earth’s vantage point. It was reported to have originated in the constellation Cancer. Key positions will be highlighted along its path to the inner solar system as it reaches the closest point to the Sun on November 28, 2013 called perihelion.

As the gravity of the Sun pulls the comet in, it will dramatically Increase in speed, circumventing the Sun, if not disintegrated, for a duration of about 27 hours from the 27th of November. According to the latest scientific observations of comet ISON, it is projected to be the size of a small mountain with a diameter of about 3 miles. As to the weight or mass, it will be anywhere between 7 billion to 7 trillion pounds. According to NASA scientists, this comet has never come into the Inner Solar System. Currently comet ISON is said to be special and it is being hyped-up as the ‘Comet of the Century’ by some experts -but with good reason. If projections and calculation are correct by scientists observing this comet, and if at the point of its perihelion or the closest approach to the Sun on the 28th of November, it is not disintegrated at 724,000 miles, then this comet will be a once in a life time spectacle that will be a class unto itself; a ‘Mega-Comet’ if you will.

This is because of several factors, 2 of which are the most prominent ones. In comparison to prior recorded comets, ISON’s tail is expected to be unprecedented in size and its magnitude of brightness to be the same as the Moons. The tail alone will be the longest by far of any other known comets ever recorded. It is projected to be over 186,000 miles long, almost 3/4th of the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Second, its magnitude of brightness will be that of a full Moon. This means that even during the day, it will be able to be seen with the naked-eye during the time that it can be seen with the naked-eye around the beginning of November to the end of December/January 2014.

In regard to the size of comet ISON’s tail, some comets can leave a residue of particle and gas clouds of up to 300,000 miles, most comets’ tails are no longer than approximately 100,000 miles. Given the known size comparisons of comets since they have been recorded, comet ISON’s tail would be considered ‘MEGA’ in length. For a perspective of how long the tail could be, the distance from Earth to the Moon is just over 238,000 miles. ISON’s tail is speculated to be over 186,000 miles long; about 30 Earth diameters, side to side. The Earth’s Diameter is 7,918 miles (12,742 km).

1) Comet ISON’s tail:  ~ 186,400 miles
2) Larger Comets:      ~ 100,000 miles: larger comets
3) Common Comets: ~   60,000 miles: most comets

What makes a tail of comets occur is that, as they near the Sun, the solar winds and heat react with the comet that is made up of dust and ionized gases. There are actually 2 tails that come off a comet, a Dust Tail and other is the Plasma Tail. A third tail was observed on Comet Hale-Bopp but they seldom occur.

1) Dust Tail: The ‘white’ portion is the Dust Tail that is made up of the smaller particles. These are the elements that reflect the Sun’s light and give it its brightness. Comet ISON brightness is said to equal the Moons at it brightest point. The Dust trails can be up to 600,000 or 6 million miles long.

2) Plasma Tail: This is the part that is ‘bluish’ in color because it contains Carbon Monoxide ions or particles. What makes the color bluish is when the comet gets closer to the Sun, the solar ultraviolet light breaks down the gas molecules, causing them to glow. These tails can also stretch across the cosmos but usually don’t exceed 100,000 miles.

Some Observations
- discovered on September 21, 2012
- announced Monday on September 24, 2012
- by Astronomers Vitali Nevski and Artyom Novichonok
- never passed through our inner solar system before
- it's larger and more reflective than those our sun has already blasted
- heading towards Earth from the Oort Cloud
- first sighted in the constellation of Cancer
- brightness magnitude is expected to be (-16)
- the Sun by comparison being (-26).
- Comet Hale-Bopp was magnitude (-1) 1997
- will be most visible in the northern hemisphere
- scientists currently predict it could outshine the Moon
- shine brightly may be able to see it briefly in the daytime sky
- its tail is expected to be over 186,000 miles, about 3/4 distance Earth to Moon

A Timeline
March 2013
- visible through small telescopes
- Comet Pan-STARRS which is set to pass by close to Earth

August 2013
- it should be visible or binoculars
- becoming visible to the naked eye by

October 2013
- comet will pass about 0.07 AU (10,000,000 km; 6,500,000 mi) from Mars
- it will be in alignment with both Mars and the bright star Regulus (3 Kings)
- barely visible to the unaided eye when it is in the predawn night sky
- will pass about 0.4 from Earth in late October or early November

November 2013
- able to be seen with the naked-eye when Hybrid Solar Eclipse occurs
- at distance of 0.012 AU (1,800,000 km; 1,100,000 mi) from the center point of the Sun
- may be less than 1° from the Sun
- making it difficult to see against the glare of the Sun
- passes very close to the bright 1st-magnitude star Spica in Virgo
- could be as bright as 3rd-magnitude
- comet reaches its perihelion on the 28th

December 2013
- visible both in the evening sky after sunset and in the morning sky before sunrise
- AU (60,000,000 km; 37,000,000 mi) from Earth on 26 December 2013.

January 2014
remaining so until mid-January 2014  

As the comet moves away from the Sun, it is activated that it will throw off a brilliantly long tail that stretched up from the twilight sky after sunset like a narrow searchlight beam for some 70 degrees of arc. For perspective, a person's clenched fist, held at arm’s length covers about 10º of sky. 

Some Definitions
Perihelion = the closest distance to the sun
AU = Astronomical Unit – from Sun to Earth, center points
Magnitude = brightness of sky objects (the lower the number, the brighter the object).

Planetary Conjunctions
Oct 10 – Start of Mercury Retrograde in Virgo
Oct 14 – Alignment with Mars and Regulus ( 3 Kings ? )
Nov 08 – Crosses the Ecliptic
Nov 01 – Mercury with Sun at Virgo and Full Moon
Nov 11 – Start of Mercury Retrograde forward in Virgo
Nov 25 – Mercury with Saturn in Libra
Dec 28 – Sun with Mercury in Sagittarius, Mars with Porrima in Virgo

Magnitude is the measure of the brightness of sky objects. In Astronomy, the lower the number, the brighter the object. When this comet ISON was discovered, it was reported to have been shining at magnitude 18.8 on the reverse scale used by astronomers to measure the brightness of sky objects.

A Harbinger of Prophecy?
There are apparently some unique dates associated with comet ISON that lead up to Chanukah that are very interesting to consider. This starts with the alignment in Leo with Mars and Regulus. Their positioning on October 14, 2013 is at a phi ratio and some are depicting it as the ‘3 Kings’. This will occur at sunset at the 0 Degree Latitude Greenwich line outside London, England. Then there will be the rare Hybrid Eclipse of November 3, 2013 when comet ISON crosses Earth’s orbital plain. The comet will be visible with the naked eye for the first time. Here is a short timeline of what is expected to occur with respect to comet ISON reaching perihelion. Many are starting to believe that comet ISON is an omen of the coming change that may well be prophetic in nature and will not only affect Israel but the whole world.

The Sun (-26)
The Sun by comparison has a brightness of only -26. Our Sun is considered a medium sized or average compared to the other billions of Suns in the known Universe. Other suns can be 100 times larger.

The Moon (-16)
The Moon is about half as bright as our Sun at (-16). Scientists currently predict that the comet of 2013, S1 or ISON could outshine the Moon. Some are suggesting that this comet will be the brightest known & recorded one in all of human history.

The Comet C2012 S1 (ISON) (-14 to -16)
This comet is anticipated to be very bright because it is speculated that it has never come around before. The brightness magnitude is expected to be (-16) by the time it reaches the vicinity of Earth. By these calculations, it will rival the brightness of a Full Moon! And it will be seen in the Day at its maximum brightness.

Comet Hale-Bopp (-1)
In comparison, when Hale-Bopp passed through the Solar System in 1997, it had a magnitude of only (-1). Hale Bopp has been the brightest comet in the modern era. Imagine such an object in the night and day sky 15x brighter? Perhaps it will be called a ‘2nd Sun’ in figurative terms.

November 3, 2013
Comet ISON crosses Earth’s orbital plain in conjunction with the Hybrid Eclipse.
The comet is able to be seen from Earth for the first time with the naked-eye. During the Hybrid Eclipse, some geographic locations along the path become umbra while other locations are more distant and enter the penumbral rather than umbral shadow. Those within the Umbra line will see only the Total Eclipse. Here are the specific times in Jerusalem during this event.

Comet ISON is at ‘head’ of Virgo
Partial eclipse begins: 3:12 p.m. local time
Greatest eclipse: 4:00 p.m. local time
Partial eclipse ends: 4:43 p.m. local time

November 17, 2013
Comet ISON is aligned with Spica that occurs at the 17th Hour

November 22, 2013
Comet ISON is at base/Feet of Virgo
The tail is projected to be about 180,000 + miles, more than 3/4 the distance from Earth to Moon.

November 27, 2013
Comet ISON is at Dschubba in the constellation Scorpio conjoining at the 19th hour 48th minute. Dschubba means a ‘front’ as in a head or of a ‘crowning’. A few hours later at the Dschubba’s line, ISON will then configure the Chanukah Menorah ‘picture’. This occurs in the sky at sunrise over the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and corresponds with the Pyramid angles of Giza. The alignment with ISON, at this point is triangulated with both Acrab and Antares, which both mean ‘wounded’ according to the research of EW Bullinger.

November 28, 2013
Comet ISON reaches perihelion, the closest point to Sun that corresponds to the Shammus or Shamash of the celestial Chanukah Menorah. The Shamash is referred to as the ‘attendant’ or ‘servant’. A 666 day count from ISON’s perihelion on November 28/29, 2013 will be September 25, 2015. This count occurs in-between the start of Yom Kippur on September 22nd and the start of Tabernacles on the 28/29th. Many do believe this will be the proclamation of the Jubilee Year. It will be 5776, the Year of Light. 

Yom Kippur starts: 23th | 24th | 25th (666th day) | 26th | 27th | 28th Tabernacles starts

Thus this count itself produces a 7-Day Menorah pattern in which the 666-Day count depicts the ‘Shamash’ of the Menorah as the ISON’s point of perihelion depicted the ‘Shamash’ with the Sun on November 28, 2013. As comet ISON speeds away from the inner Solar System, there are dates that are very unique that are noted below.

1) Dec 25, 2013 - ISON reaches closest approach to Earth’s above North Pole
2) Jan 1-15, 2014 - Earth and Venus will pass the point of ISON’s Tail above their North Poles
3) Jan 11-15, 2014 - Earth and Venus pass ISON’s tail debris. Possible meteorite showers

Many believe this will be the Jubilee Year as it is proclaimed on Yom Kippur. It will be 5776, the Year of Light. Thus Chanukah, as the Festival of Lights has this direct relationship and number associated to it. This will 3 days later from the September 25th 666-Day count the last Blood Red Moon of the Tetrad on September 28, 2015 will occur. Many are now speculating that this will be the possible start date or season of the Tribulation Period. Of interest also will be the fact that Chanukah in 2015 will occur on December 7, a ‘Day of Infamy’.

The celestial Chanukah Menorah also has possible prophetic interpretation purely based on the meaning of the star involved with ISON’s alignments. The stars are Acrab, Dschubba and Antares. The stars that make up the points of this celestial Chanukah Menorah that occurs on the 1st day of the Festival in addition to the celestial Menorah itself allude to 1) a servant-The Shamash, 2) a wounding-Acrab and Antares and 3) a crown-Dschubba. Applying elementary Biblical known themes to this picture, it could be said that this ‘sign’ then is referencing to when the Son, Jesus Christ the Messiah came to Israel as a Servant, was wounded (crucified) but will eventually be crowned.

Comet ISON’s Tail: The Veil of a Bride?
Perhaps the crowning of the Messiah of Israel, the Son of David will take place at a future Chanukah Festival season after His return. Comet ISON will streak across the constellation Virgo for the whole month of November 2013 before it swings around the Sun at the point of perihelion on the 28th, after the 1st day after Chanukah. What is intriguing about Virgo in association with comet ISON is that aside the fact that the constellation Virgo has the classical phi ratio proportions, comet ISON conjoins these same specific points along the Ecliptic. In other words, comet ISON happen to mirror the phi ratio proportion of the constellation’s points in terms of its speed. This means that the comet is also traveling at a factor of a phi ratio velocity.

On November 3, 2013, ISON will have crossed the Earth’s orbital plane. On the same day, the very rare Hybrid Solar Eclipse occurs. The next Hybrid will occur on Apr 20, 2023, approximately 9 years or 493 weeks later. This time span appears to be some sort of possible ‘bookends’ from 2013 to 2023. ISON then conjoins Spica on November 17, 2013. Spica means ‘ears of corn or wheat’. Then on November 22, it will be at the Feet of Virgo. At this point, the length of ISON’s tail will span the entirety of the constellation Virgo. On the 28th of November, it will reach perihelion after the 1st day of Chanukah as occurred. The constellation Virgo is often depicted as Israel that ‘birthed’ the Messiah, Jesus Christ as depicted for example in Revelation 12 but it also has connotations to the Bride of Christ. Using some poetic license metaphorically then, the comet’s tail could be seen as a flowing white veil from Virgo’s head flowing down the length of the train beyond her feet.

Then due to the comet ISON’s trajectory, it sweeps it up as it travels through Ophiuchus and on to the Crown of Bootes before leaving the Inner Solar System. Could this be a prophetic picture as well in conjunction to the celestial Chanukah Menorah? Is this a ‘picture’ of a Bride having put on the veil that is about to be swept up for a coronation? Could this event be signaling then the possible Rapture of the Christian Church that will serve as a ‘heavenly’ sign for Israel at the same time? Could this be a forewarning or ‘omen’ to Israel and the Nations? Is ISON then a Heavenly Sign from the LORD foreshadowing a repeat of what took place at the first Chanukah in the 2nd century; a war, a defilement, and a dedication but in reversed order? The LORD GOD of Israel is affirming this Festival and is signaling the soon fulfillment of the re-dedication of the 3rd Temple perhaps after the 2014 or 2015 Tetrad time frame.
_____________________________

Main Sources
NGS.com
Space.com
Stallerium.com
Wikipedia.com

DOWNLOAD ARTICLE: PDF

DOWNLOAD CHART PDF

https://nebula.wsimg.com/d1660cf7dd633421e765fa4dbd2ec3d0?AccessKeyId=D40106E1331C24ABD7C3&disposition=0&alloworigin=1

___________________________________

© Published by Vegapost Productions
​A website dedicated to the study of Biblical Eschatology.

This is PostScripts News Article #42.
​Read more Articles at: www.PostScripts.org/articles.html
Follow PSN online at www.PostScripts.org