The Hubble Space Telescope and Comet ISON

Planetary astronomers and Host Tony Darnell hosted a Google Hangout discussion of Comet ISON, its origins and destination, and why everyone’s so excited about it.
The approach of this comet has generated a lot of excitement, it is going to pass extremely close to the sun and when it does, astronomers tell us this may be among the brightest comets we’ve ever seen hanging in our night sky.

Or will it be a dud?

Well, we’re going to talk about that and a whole lot more:

Is it going to hit us?
Where did it come from?
How big is it?
What’s it made of?
What’s so great about comets anyway?
What if it breaks up? Will the pieces hit us?
How can I get a comet named after me?
Is Scott’s head a comet nucleus?

Tony Darnell, Alberto Conti and Scott Lewis discussed these and other questions.