Huge Comet just hit the Sun!!!! (Update Asteroid or Comet is now incoming. 3rd impact), page 1
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reply posted on 12-3-2010 @ 07:54 PM by Phage
reply to post by kdial1



No. Just headed back out there. Way, way back out there.


reply posted on 12-3-2010 @ 07:57 PM by westcoast
reply to post by Phage



Wow...tbose are cool. The difference here though, is that it appears the sun is actually struck by these comets. Do we know for sure that they did hit the sun? What about previously recorded impacts? Phage? I think of you as a resident expert. What is your take on this?


reply posted on 12-3-2010 @ 08:09 PM by Phage
reply to post by intrepid



We don't really know how big these little guys that hit the sun fairly regularly are. They appear large in the SOHO images because they are bright and cause a "blooming" effect in the sensor. We never really get to see the actual nucleus of a comet, what we see is actually a cloud of dust and gas.

For example, Halley's comet has a nucleus of only about 16x8x8 km (egg shaped). The one that just hit (maybe just grazed) the Sun is bound to be much smaller than that. Rather than an extinction event, if it hit Earth it would more likely be something like Tunguska. Not good, but not the end of us.


reply posted on 12-3-2010 @ 08:14 PM by intrepid
Originally posted by Phage
reply to
post by intrepid



We don't really know how big these little guys that hit the sun fairly regularly are.

Rather than an extinction event, if it hit Earth it would more likely be something like Tunguska. Not good, but not the end of us.


Rather incongruous but I amended my post accordingly.
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