"Christmas Comet" survives encounter with Sun

12/24/2011

A tiny comet recently discovered by Australian amateur astronomy Terry Lovejoy survived an intense encounter with the Sun on December 16. It just may be visible through early January at sunrise but you'll need to be south of the equator.

This image of comet C/2011 W3 Lovejoy was taken December 21st by Expedition 30 Commander Dan Burbank aboard the International Space Station. Courtesy D. Burbank/NASA

For details on this story visit StarGeezerAstronomy

Posted by Stargeezer on 12/24/2011 at 05:08 AM | Permalink

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12/24/2011