Posted 12.16.2011 at 11:59 am
8 Comments
Comet Lovejoy Plunges Toward the Sun
NASA
Yesterday, comet fans were glued to their observatories as Lovejoy, a brave comet made of ice and dirt, headed on a collision course into the sun. The outcomes of these match-ups are pretty much foregone conclusions: the proverbial snowball's chance in Hell.
But Lovejoy! Lovejoy zipped right past the sun, enduring temperatures over one million degrees, and came out the other side with just a little melt damage.
The Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the remarkable escape. Hope you guys didn't wager the kids' presents on the mighty sun.
[via Discovery]
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Pfft... didn't the Enterprise already prove that you can slingshot around the sun at super close range and speed and come out either in the past or future depending on direction with nothing more than some slight hull char?
I am quite impressed actually, the Leidenfrost effect must have saved it.
Playing Devil's Advocate since 1978
"The only constant in the universe is change"
-Heraclitus of Ephesus 535 BC - 475 BC
lol I had to watch that video so many times to see it...but was still pretty cool that comet was really moving
Ha! I love it! So according to Star Trek, the comet left the suns orbit fast than the speed of light and transported it'self back in time!
Wouldn't it run into itself then and cause a time quake paradox of infinite proportions and destroy the universe? Or would it be more localized to the comet itself? Quantum Mechanics has/or have always been my weekest subject. Dependant on what point in the timeline you ask me the question.
...enduring temperatures over one million degrees!?!
the temperature of the surface of the sun is not anywhere close to one million degrees. lol.
It will interesting to chart it's new orbit since it has only 10% of the mass after making it through the sun's outer atmosphere and being baked nearly to death. Perhaps it's even on a collision course with earth now!
The power latent heat of water, takes allot of energy to boil ice the size of that comet down, it probably could have survived a much closer encounter still.
I suppose I should be excited, but the video just does not do it for me.
Perhaps it's like what Turbo Two Tone said, history now is just repeating and well, I hate re-runs...... sigh.
Actually, I am joking.
This video is REALLY COOL!
@johnphu: But, thanks to the wonderful, baffling world of physics, the sun's corona (atmosphere) is much hotter than the surface.