NASA's Hubble Telescope released images confirming that Comet ISON is still intact after its sun-grazing rendezvous and is expected to shine brightly end October.

Previous predictions suggested that Comet ISON, dubbed "Comet of The Century" will disintegrate with the sun's warmth as it passes the celestial body. However, new images released by NASA's Hubble Telescope confirm that the comet is still intact.

The comet, which was discovered in September 2012 by the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON), near Kislovodsk, Russia, is believed to be a pristine cometary nucleus that has fallen from the hypothetical Oort Cloud, a reservoir of icy fragments left over from the birth of the solar system. It is reckoned that this "shell" of proto-comets is located around 1 light-year away from the sun.

Other findings from Hubble's images that confirm comet ISON is not disintegrating is the fact that Hubble was not able to detect any fragments, which would have been the case had the comet's nucleus broken. Also, the coma or head surrounding the comet's nucleus remains symmetric and smooth. This would not have been the case if fragments of the nucleus were found flying around.

Another interesting find made by Hubble is that the polar jet of dust images taken by the telescope in April are no longer visible. Researchers speculate that it may have been "turned off."

The recently released image was assembled using two filters. The comet's coma is depicted in cyan, a greenish-blue color due to gas, while the tail is reddish due to dust streaming off the nucleus. The image was taken when the comet was inside Mars' orbit and 177 million miles from Earth.

In another report, amateur astronomers expect Comet ISON to shine brightly by the end of October, making it visible through telescopes during this time. The amateur astronomy club called Jyotirvidya Parisanstha (JVP) began a photographic tracking of Comet ISON with other astronomy clubs setting up workshops, awareness campaigns and even star parties to observe the much anticipated space phenomenon in 2013.

"With its present positioning, it seems that the comet will be bright and visible towards the end of October. Having crossed Mars in the beginning of the month, the comet will start getting visible over the eastern horizon around October 30 and one can spot it through the telescope about 40 minutes before sunrise. As it progresses, the comet will be visible through binoculars between November 4 and November 9 and later, around November 19, it will be visible to the naked eye," Arvind Paranjpye, director of the Nehru Planetarium said in a Times of India report.

The comet will actually be the brightest end November when it will be closest to the Sun. However, owing to the sun's strong light, ISON may not be visible. Researchers also speculate that Comet ISON may not survive this proximity with the sun and may disappear well before it even reaches this location. If the comet survives, it will be visible through binoculars and maybe even the unaided eye in the second week of December, making its closest approach to Earth December 26.