The comet is seen traveling 450,000 miles per hour through the sun’s intense radiation in new footage from the solar eclipse
- A newly discovered comet was seen flying by the sun during the solar eclipse
- The comet was the size of a semi-truck and traveled 450,000 miles per hour
- It was 2.7 million miles from the sun when it dissolved in the radiation
A newly discovered comet was seen flying 2.7 million miles from the sun in last week’s solar eclipse before dissolving into dust particles from the intense radiation.
Named C / 2020 X3 (SOHO), the comet was discovered by an amateur astronomer who aimed through satellite data the day before the total solar eclipse on 14 December.
The comet was part of the Kreutz sungrazer family, descended from a large parent comet that broke into smaller fragments thousands of years ago.
C / 2020 X3 appears as a small spot flying through the sky, but experts say it traveled about 450,000 miles per hour as it whispered past Earth’s giant star.
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A newly discovered comet was seen flying 2.7 million miles from the sun during last week’s solar eclipse before dissolving in the intense radiation
The comet was discovered by Thai amateur astronomer Worachate Boonplod on the NASA-funded Sungrazer project.
This organization is a civil science project that invites everyone to search for and discover new comets in images from the Common European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).
When the comet was first discovered, Boonplod expected it to streak across the sky during the solar eclipse, and that it would appear as a small spot in photos – and he was right.
On December 14, the comet was a small bright dot in images of the solar eclipse.
The comet was part of the Kreutz sungrazer family, descended from a large parent comet that broke into smaller fragments thousands of years ago. C / 2020 X3 appears as a small spot flying through the sky, but experts say it traveled about 450,000 miles as it whispered past Earth’s giant star
Experts say it traveled about 450,000 miles per hour and measured about 50 feet in diameter – equivalent to the length of a semi-truck.
However, the comet dissolved into dust particles due to intense solar radiation a few hours before it reached its closest point to the sun.
The total solar eclipse swept across South America last week, throwing thousands in Argentina and Chile in the dark for about two minutes.
Dozens of amateur and professional astronomers put telescopes on the slopes of Villarrica – one of Chile’s most active volcanoes – to observe the phenomenon.
The eclipse was to be visible along a 55-kilometer-wide corridor – running from the Pacific coast of Chile across the Andes and further into Argentina.
The total solar eclipse swept across South America last week, throwing thousands in Argentina and Chile in the dark for about two minutes
The event was eagerly anticipated among Chile’s original Mapuche – the largest group in the southern part of the country.
“Today we were all hoping for a sunny day, but nature gave us rain and at the same time it gives us something we need,” Estela Nahuelpan, a leader of the Mateo Nahuelpan community in the southern city of Carahue, told AFP .
‘In Mapuche culture, the eclipse has different meanings – they speak of’ Lan Antu ‘, as the death of the sun and the conflict between the moon and the sun.’
‘It refers to the necessary balance that must exist in nature,’ she explained.
In another tradition, an eclipse means the temporary death of the sun during a battle between the star and an evil force known as ‘Wekufu.’