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The arrow in the picture above shows you the tail (look for the faint diagonal streak) of the comet as it was about to pass into the corona of the sun on December 15th. |
Comet Lovejoy was just discovered last month on November 27th by an Australian amateur, Terry Lovejoy. As a member of the class of comets called Kreutz Sungrazers, it seemed that this 660 ft core diameter comet's discovery was to be short lived. It was on a collision course with the Sun's corona.
On December 15th, it aimed straight into the corona, with temperatures reaching 2 million degrees Fahrenheit. The comet's path took it to within 87,000 miles of the solar surface. And guess what?
According to NASA, the Lovejoy is the little comet that could. It has survived this pass and truly grazed the sun instead of suicidally diving into the core.
How cool is that?
