Scientists expect the Comet ISON to reach just under 700,000 miles from the sun before on Nov. 28. Pending it does not vaporize or get torn apart, we should be able to see the comet with our own eyes in early December as it makes its way back out into the solar system.

Scientists are unsure how ISON will fair as it nears the sun’s hot surface, but they remain optimistic. Traveling at 234 miles per second, the comet will reach temperatures of 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit, plenty warm enough to melt ice, metal and rock.

Even if it did not melt, the comet could be torn apart by the sun’s sheer gravitational force. However, according to the calculations made by the scientists, the believe it will survive both the heat and gravity.

Two amateur astronomers discovered the comet back in 2012. They were using the International Scientific Optical Network, for which the comet is named.

Given that the comet was just beyond Jupiter’s orbit at the time of discovery, scientists estimate that the ISON comet is exceptionally bright, which gives scientists and amateur astronomers alike the idea that it might offer a spectacular show as it nears the sun in the coming weeks.

Comets are the frozen remnants of our solar system’s formation 4.5 billion years ago. As ISON nears the sun, its heat will vaporize the icy and even rocky body of the comet. A tail of debris will form as the comet’s outer layers break apart, and some can get brighter the closer they get.

Amateur astronomers have now been able to take photos of ISON using just small telescopes and binoculars the last week and half. They have since shared the photos and their excitement online.

“I finally saw Comet ISON for the first time using small binoculars!” pilot Brian Whittaker wrote on Spaceweather.com. “It was faint, but is predicted to brighten and move each day! Exciting!”

ISON belongs to a group of comets found in the Oort Cloud, which hovers just beyond Neptune’s orbit. Every now and then, objects get flung out of the cloud through gravity, where they move into the inner solar system. According to computer models, this will be ISON’s first time visiting the inner solar system.

For those wanting to get a look, ISON is still best viewed through binoculars. It is currently speeding through the Virgo constellation low in the eastern sky in the predawn hours, according to astronomer Tony Phillips, who wrote on Spaceweather.com.