Comet ISON

This was the Hubble Space Telescope's last and closest look at Comet ISON before perihelion and its disintegration. Hubble captured its closest look at the innermost region of the comet, where geysers of sublimating ice fueled a spectacular tail, on November 2, 2013. The round coma around ISON's nucleus is blue, and the tail has a redder hue. Ice and gas in the coma reflect blue light from the Sun, while dust grains in the tail reflect more red light than blue light.