In case you missed it , a comet grazed the sun on Thanksgiving Day . Expectations had been high that Comet ISON would survive this close encounter , swing around the sun and put on a fantastic sky show . It was hoped it might even become a Great Comet , with massive tails visible to the naked eye . But something really bad happened and now it looks like ISON may be just dust in the solar wind ( the sun was uninjured , FYI ) . Here 's what we know now about ISON : . 1 . Is ISON dead ? Well , maybe . After the comet flew about 730,000 miles above the sun 's surface , it started fading in images taken by NASA spacecraft . Things got so bad that Karl Battams , an astrophysicist with the U.S . Naval Research Laboratory and one of ISON 's top fans , er -- chief observers -- wrote an obit for the comet . Despite the eulogy , Battams said we have to wait for the Hubble Space Telescope or other telescopes to confirm ISON 's fate . `` It seems unlikely at this stage that anything of significant size remains but Hubble observations would help clear that up , '' Battams told CNN in an e-mail . NASA also hinted there may be a bit of hope for ISON in its latest update posted online Wednesday . The agency said it will use space telescopes to monitor ISON for the next several weeks because it 's possible that dust is hiding a new , smaller version of it . `` Most agree that up to 90 % of ISON was destroyed , leaving approximately 10 % of the comet intact . If previous sungrazing comets are any guides , there may be a sizeable piece of comet nucleus left . At this point , though , scientists are waiting for a variety of telescopes to make observations before the status of Comet ISON can be confirmed . '' 2 . What do we call ISON now ? `` I do n't think there is an official term yet , '' Battams said . `` I have been referring to it as a comet remnant , and that seems pretty appropriate . '' 3 . ISON was n't a flop . Okay , it wo n't be a `` Great Comet '' or the `` Comet of the Century . '' But ISON did become a social media superstar and it gave scientists tons of data . `` It 's disappointing that we did n't get a spectacular naked-eye comet , '' Matthew Knight of Comet ISON Observing Campaign said in a NASA science article . `` But in other ways I think Comet ISON was a huge success . The way people connected with Comet ISON via social media was phenomenal ; our Comet ISON Observing Campaign website earned well over a million hits ; and I had trouble downloading images near perihelion because NASA 's servers were swamped . `` So maybe ISON was the 'Comet of the New Century , ' '' he said . NASA deep-sixes Deep Impact comet hunter . 4 . ISON wo n't be forgotten . ISON 's fate has become a near obsession for a special Facebook group set up by physicist and astronomer Padma Yanamandra-Fisher with the Space Science Institute and the ISON observing campaign . More than 300 members have been tracking the comet and sharing amazing pictures . Many are still looking for ISON 's remains and they are n't ready to declare it dead . `` I think the evidence shows that something catastrophic happened to the comet , but I do n't think anyone is 100 % sure , '' said Yanamandra-Fisher . `` Ground-based observations and orbiting telescopic observations , such as Hubble Space Telescope , later in December are important . '' 5 . But wait , there 's more ! Believe it or not , ISON is not the only comet ! `` There are several comets to enjoy right now , '' Battams says . He likes Comet Lovejoy ( discovered by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy ) , Comet Encke and Comet LINEAR . `` The bottom line is that there are several comets still visible , and even when the bright comets have gone , there will always be more . The night sky is full of wonderful things to observe , too , so people absolutely should get outside and explore the skies ! '' Battams said . If you 're ready to go comet-hunting , here are some websites that ISON observers say might help : .
The scientists are hunting ISON 's remains . A chunk of the comet may have survived . Comet - watchers are not giving up on it .