Kamikaze comet ‘vaporized’ by sun during 1.3 million mph plunge (VIDEO)
Stunning footage from the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured a bright ‘sungrazer’ comet as it darted toward our star at colossal speed on Thursday.
SOHO saw a bright comet plunge toward the sun on Aug. 3-4 at nearly 1.3 million mph. https://t.co/c6aITEfaACpic.twitter.com/1tNyYUCVpg
— NASA Goddard (@NASAGoddard) August 5, 2016
The space rock, composed of compacted ice and dust, was part of the ‘Kreutz’ family of comets, according to NASA.
This ‘sungrazer’ group of comets follows a related orbit in our solar system after breaking off from a huge comet centuries ago. Dozens have already been recorded evaporating in the solar atmosphere.
This is one of the brightest Kreutz sungrazers we've seen over the past 21yrs. Awesome! https://t.co/CavawzjEeQpic.twitter.com/1JbP7C7t2y
— Karl Battams (@SungrazerComets) August 3, 2016
It was first spotted by SOHO researchers on 1 August, just two days before its solar orbit brought it too close for survival.
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Its arcing trajectory seemed to suggest the comet was aiming for a daring close-quarters orbit of the fiery sphere.
However, the sun’s extremely-intense heat 'vaporized' the comet before reaching the other side of our star, according to the space agency.
