First-ever view of a sungrazer comet in front of the sun (w/ video)
Friday, July 8, 2011 - 07:32
in Astronomy & Space
(PhysOrg.com) -- On the evening of Tuesday, July 5, a comet flew into the sun. Such comets are not unusual, and they're called "sungrazers" since they come so close to the star that it is believed they evaporate and disappear. However, no one has actually seen the end of that journey, since the comets are best seen in cameras from SOHO (SOlar and Heliospheric Observatory) that block out the bright disk of the sun itself.
