Did you ever see a comet plunge into the sun? Not likely unless you have seen images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). Watch as the comet strikes the heliosphere and causes a solar explosion.
Image: Courtesy NASA and SOHO
Spaceweather.com says:
Yesterday, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) caught a comet plunging toward the sun. It went in–but not out again. The sungrazing comet disintegrated like an ice cube in an oven.
In the animation, the white circle represents the outline of the sun. The dark circle is a shield in the optics to block the solar image so background activity and objects may be seen. Above and to the left is the planet Venus which just passed above and in front of the Sun. In a wider field of view image, the planet Mars can also be seen along with labels explaining the image.
