Comet to Make Death Dive Through Sun Thursday

[Billy]

A comet with a death wish is set to skim through the atmosphere of the sun late Thursday (Dec. 15), likely destroying itself but offering a neat show to solar satellites.

The comet is what's known as a Kreutz Sungrazing comet, or a "sungrazer," so-named because it will graze the surface of the sun.

Comet Lovejoy is set to pass through the sun's intensely hot corona, within 87,000 miles (140,000 km) of the solar surface. This point of closest approach, called perihelion, is expected at 7 p.m. EST Dec. 15 (00:00 GMT Dec. 16). This close shave will most likely destroy the comet, experts said.



http://www.space.com/13925-sungrazing-comet-lovejoy-sun-death-dive.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+spaceheadlines+%28SPACE.com+Headline+Feed%29


NASA footage of comet

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/sunearth/news/track-comet.html

[13th Warrior]

I'd watch for associated CMEs...

[Billy]

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[Billy]

11918

Wayne Herchel has uploaded this picture of a UFO interacting with the comet.
Wayne's FB page
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150429369107616&set=a.57011397615.69188.564222615&type=1&theater

[Billy]

From Wayne Herchel. Link above

1198911990Thusday the comet headed towards the sun. NASA LASCO C3 IMAGE RELEASE
OMITS HOURS OF IMAGES
BETWEEN 8.30 AND 11PM
COMET SWINGS VIOLENTLY...
AS IF MOVED... NEARER SUN???
NEVER SEEN THIS BEFORE.

[Billy]

From Wayne
Early Friday morning the Comet grazes behind the Sun
LATEST LASCO C2
NOTE LARGE CYLINDRICAL OBJECT
ABOVE SUN WITH DEBRIS TRAIL LIKE THE UFO

11991

11992

[Billy]

Early friday morning Comet Lovejoy survives solar encounter
http://news.discovery.com/space/lovejoy-lives-comet-survives-solar-encounter-111215.html
11993

You would have been very optimistic if, before Comet Lovejoy's apparent suicidal near-miss of the sun's surface, you'd placed a bet on the icy interloper's survival. But if you did, you'd be laughing all the way to the bank.

This is why I don't gamble -- I was anything but optimistic of the chances the Kreutz Sungrazing comet -- officially designated as C/2011 W3 (Lovejoy) -- would live through the hellish temperatures it endured as it made the death-defying solar dive.

But as NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) watched the comet emerge from the other side of the sun Thursday evening, Comet Lovejoy proved the doubters wrong and continued its orbit after passing only 87,000 miles above the sun's photosphere. In doing so, it had endured temperatures of over a million degrees Celsius.

Watch the video of the lucky comet zooming away from the limb of the sun:

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[Billy]

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[Billy]

11994update today. Comet LOVEJOY VISIBLE WITH TELESCOPES BEFORE SUNRISE... As it heads back towards earth. but far enough away to have no concern. :thumb:

[drizzt]

So what is the comet made of that is survives the heat of the Sun?

there is no Earth made items to do that?

is it a spacecraft or an alien satellite taking pictures of our Sun?

[RMorgan]

It´s a fairly big comet, with about 200m diameter, made mostly of rock and ice. We can´t perceive it in the video, but it went very fast and no so close to the sun (140.000 KM) to get hot enough to disintegrate. It´s a sungraze comet, so it´s always been relatively close to the sun and if it is still in one piece, it´s because it can handle the temperature pretty well.

[Billy]

So what is the comet made of that is survives the heat of the Sun?

there is no Earth made items to do that?

is it a spacecraft or an alien satellite taking pictures of our Sun?

Yes there seems to be more to this than meets the eye, If you read Wayne's comment on posts 4 and 5 above it " SEEMS" there was some UFO interaction with the comet. I have not posted all the comments concerning the interaction as there is no evidence that this is so. also mentioned above is that NASA omited images for a few hours, we can only speculate as to why. I will post more info tomorrow concerning the interaction.

[Ishtar]

The Sun has been unusually quiet the last few days (over Thursday and Friday) and has only started springing back to its usual self, in terms of firing off solar blasts, in the last 36 hours. A friend who's been watching the Sun closely for around 8 years says he's never seen the Sun so quiet.

If you have a look at this chart (http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/rt_plots/xray_5m.html), it shows real time Sun activity data. I usually keep an eye on it, and usually the solar flares are up in the Ms and Xs. When this happens, about two to three days later, we get aurora borealises further south on Earth, and the electromagnetic field increases. I like to keep an eye on it because I can sometimes get dizzy when the solar flares are strong (M and X) as they have been for most of last year.

So it was almost as if the Sun knew this comet was coming through and kept itself quiet to give it easy passage.

I know to some that may seem weird, that the Sun has consciousness, but it's no weirder than UFOs! ;)

[Chester]

I know to some that may seem weird, that the Sun has consciousness, but it's no weirder than UFOs! ;)

It does, and you picked up on a demonstration of that. Good one, Thanks!

[BestLion]

I'm an amateur astronomer, I have a telescope and love to catch comets. BUT I cant look at the sun in my telescope or it will destroy my lens..and also likely my eye. man I'd love to see this comet hit the sun! That would be amazing to see!
3 months ago i caught a small comet in the asteroid belt area, that was amazing to see via a telescope.

[modwiz]

Since we have a thread on the use of language her at PA, a comment about this thread title. Death dive? Death wish? These are not accurate descriptive or scientific terms. They are emotionally laden projected anthropomorphic projection.

Use of language like this is rife in astrophysics in an attempt to sex it up. The Discovery channel does much the same with geological topics. The language used is always mesnt to trigger emotion and ascribe a warlike nature to Creation. It makes this programming unwatchable. It made throwing away the TV all the easier. Nature is my Mother and the Universe my Father. Hearing scientist and narrators speak of my 'family' in such ugly, martial, and dishonest terms makes me feel disgust.

Anyway, it should be an interesting cosmic event to witness. More cosmic eye candy from a loving Universe.

[KosmicKat]

Is this about the comet that is now continuing on its course out towards the edge of the solar system, smaller, but still intact?