Comet Lovejoy Survives Fiery Plunge Through Sun, NASA Says

Space.com via Yahoo News ^ | 16 Dec 2011 | Mike Wall

[Paradox]

I guess it probably ablatively shielded itself. This is way cool!

[BenLurkin]

Exactly. It didn’t set the controls for the heart of the sun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtIBZNl3DY4

[bvw]

The lamentable statis of that crew is a thing unenjoyable.

[BenLurkin]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10AaBQjx6rc&feature=relmfu

Stargate Universe - Kino 6

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks edpc!

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[SunkenCiv]

Thanks edpc! An “extra, extra” ping to the APoD list members.

[GourmetDan]

" A video taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft showed the icy object emerging from behind the sun and zipping back off into space."

Maybe... just maybe it wasn't made of ice?

[martin_fierro]

Well, that's it. The comet went at night and in mid-December. Naturally it's going to be cooler.

I actually had to think about that for a few seconds.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Also, how was it's trajectory affected?

The basic elliptical trajectory wouldn't be affected at all by the sun's gravity, that's what it is all about. The atmospheric drag and solar wind should cause a noticable effect. Comet Lovejoy is a member of a class of comets called Kreutz sungrazers. They are the remants of an 11th Century comet that was broken up by tidal forces when it passed too close to the sun. The solar corona is about a trillion trillion times less dense than the earth's atmosphere at sea level, btw.

It didn't survive because the sun is cooler than they thought but because Lovejoy is bigger than expected. It will not survive many such approaches.