"A sungrazing comet is a comet that passes extremely close to the Sun at perihelion - sometimes within a few thousand kilometres of the Sun's surface. While small sungrazers can be completely evaporated during such a close approach to the Sun, larger sungrazers can survive many perihelion passages. However, strong evaporation and tidal forces they experience often lead to their fragmentation."source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sungrazing_cometIn honor of the 30th anniversary, last year, of the first Sungrazer to be viewed from space I did a small simulation sungrazer called "SOLWIND 1" which shows the impressive approach of this type of comet to the Sun: This comet reached striking distance of 0.0048 AU from the Sun at its perihelion!
"These images were obtained with the SOLWIND white light coronagraph aboard the Air Force Space Test Program satellite P78-1 on 1979 August 30. The left-hand image is the first image showing the comet, while the right-hand image was the last showing the comet's head. Venus is located on the left side of each image."source:
http://cometography.com/lcomets/1979q1.htmlCompare the image above to this of the simulation at point of view of Earth:
Apparently he did not survive the approach because it has not been re-emerge from behind the Sun after its perihelion.
As the simulation shows, the hyperbolic orbit of the comet would not collide with the Sun, it would take a great aproximation, this disappearance was probably due to the comet's total defragmentation at closest approach followed by its vaporization:
note: For the simulation to be successful demonstrating their great approximation of the comet with the Sun, is important not increasing the original timestep of the simulation ( patience, patience
) !
note2: In time, NASA last year has just announced a project in which anyone can help in the search for new Sungrazers comets ( and others objects like the eventual remains of
hypothetical planet Theia ) in pictures and videos taken by SOHO and STEREO probes.
For more information about this project follow this links:
-
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stereo/news/gravity_parking.html-
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/09apr_theia.htmThe official site of the project:-
http://sungrazer.nrl.navy.mil/index.php?p=introductionThe simulation file are attached.
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