The biggest star of 2013… could be Ison – the comet of the century
A comet discovered by two Russian astronomers will be visible from Earth next year. Get ready for a once-in-a lifetime light show, says David Whitehouse

At the moment it is a faint object, visible only in sophisticated telescopes as a point of light moving slowly against the background stars. It doesn’t seem much – a frozen chunk of rock and ice – one of many moving in the depths of space. But this one is being tracked with eager anticipation by astronomers from around the world, and in a year everyone could know its name.

Comet Ison could draw millions out into the dark to witness what could be the brightest comet seen in many generations – brighter even than the full Moon.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/brighter-than-a-full-moon-the-biggest-star-of-2013-could-be-ison—the-comet-of-the-century-8431443.html

But will we see it from Oz? Yes, but not as good a view as they’ll get in the northern hemisphere. Sydney Observatory takes up the story:

In the week or two before closest approach to the Sun or perihelion the comet will be visible low in the east before sunrise. It should be getting brighter, but also closer to the horizon each morning. If the comet grows a visible tail, it should be pointing upwards, away from the rising Sun.

After perihelion as the comet moves towards the Earth we will not be able to get much of a look from the southern hemisphere. It will be neither an evening nor a morning object for in the evenings the comet will set before the Sun and in the mornings it will rise with the Sun.

Assuming the comet does not fade away like some comets of the past, for those of us in the southern hemisphere the best chance to see Comet ISON will be from mid to late November 2013 in the mornings before sunrise and in the daytime about the date of perihelion on 29 November 2013. As indicated above, watch this blog for updates and take extreme care when looking in the direction of the Sun.

http://www.sydneyobservatory.com.au/2012/will-comet-ison-put-on-a-show-from-the-southern-hemisphere-near-the-end-of-2013/

It took me a while to find it, but I knew I had posted a thread on this somewhere :)

Comet thread

Postby Kingy » Tue Sep 25, 2012 9:55 pm
Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON)

Currently located beyond the orbit of Jupiter, Comet ISON is heading for a very close encounter with the sun next year. In Nov. 2013, it will pass less than 0.012 AU (1.8 million km) from the solar surface. The fierce heating it experiences then could turn the comet into a bright naked-eye object.

http://www.orangeinthedark.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=37&p=170#p170

That sounds quite exciting!

For the southern hemisphere, might those of us living closer to the equator potentially gain a better view?

What kind of orbit does the comet have? A fly by and then shafted from the solar system?

Divine Angel said:

What kind of orbit does the comet have? A fly by and then shafted from the solar system?

this one or generally?

if they return they have a parabolic orbit and if they are a one off then a hyperbolic orbit. either can be changed due to interaction with other gravitational bodies in the solar system, eg jupiter.