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Comet that survived near-miss with Sun blazes a trail through night sky (More Photos in link)
Amateur stargazer captures incredible images of Comet Lovejoy's trajectory over the Earth's horizon
The comet came within 87,000 miles of the Sun's 5700C surface
Astronomers all over the world were left awe-struck by Comet Lovejoy's incredible close shave with the Sun as it came within 87,000 miles of its fiery surface last week.
And now, the comet's trajectory across the Earth's skies have been captured in dazzling detail by an astronomy enthusiast.
Using only a simple digital camera with a long exposure to let more light in, these incredible images were taken by stargazer Alex Cherney as Comet Lovejoy blazed a trail through the night sky after appearing over the Earth's horizon.
Magical moment: Stargazer Alex Cherney captured Comet Lovejoy streaking across the night sky at Cape Schanck, Victoria, on the southern coast of Australia
Experts expected the comet, which is 1,600ft in diameter, to have vapourised when it passed through the Sun's intensely hot corona.
However, it survived the close encounter intact and continued on its path through space.
The commander of the International Space Station took pictures of Lovejoy last week from his vantage point 240 miles above the Earth.
But Mr Cherney managed to capture the comet with its long, streaky tail from the ground at Cape Schanck, Victoria, Australia.
Mr Cherney, a 36-year-old IT consultant, took advantage of the lack of light pollution from the remote peninsula on the south coast of Australia to record the dazzling scene.
Mr Cherney said: 'Luckily Comet Lovejoy survived the near-miss with the Sun and it put on a magnificent display in the southern sky.'
It passed about 87,000 miles from the Sun on December 16 when it was supposed to have been obliterated but re-emerged out the other side of the corona.
It lost its tail during the close encounter but developed a new one as it streaked away.
The comet has been tracked all over the world since passing over the Earth, spotted in South America.
Dan Burbank, the commander of the International Space Station, saw the comet from a magnificent vantage point – 240 miles above the Earth’s horizon.
He described seeing the comet as ‘the most amazing thing I have ever seen in space’ in an interview with WDIV-TV in Detroit.
Star gazers were left astonished when Comet Lovejoy survived its hellishly hot encounter with the Sun.
The 660-foot-wide icy rock disappeared around the back side of the Sun, coming within 87,000 miles of its surface, and emerged triumphantly out the other side.
Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory caught the great escape on camera.
After the dramatic event it tweeted: ‘Breaking News! Lovejoy lives! The comet Lovejoy has survived its journey around the sun to reemerge on the other side.’
Lovejoy was only discovered on November 27 this year and was named after the amateur Australian astronomer who spotted it, Terry Lovejoy.
Heat is on: Lovejoy emerges from the clutches of the Sun and was spotted escaping last week by Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory
It is classed as a ‘Kreutz sungrazer’, which is a class of comet whose orbit comes very close to the Sun.
They are named after the 19th-century German astronomer Heinrich Kreutz, who figured out that they are actually the remains of one huge comet that broke apart.
Soon after Lovejoy was found three separate space agencies excitedly began tracking its trajectory – Nasa, the European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency.
Its fate was quickly marked as doomed because it would rush headlong into the Sun’s hellish corona.
Writing on the Sungrazing Comets website, Naval Research Laboratory scientist Karl Battams said: ‘We have here an exceptionally rare opportunity to observe the complete vaporization of a relatively large comet, and we have approximately 18 instruments on five different satellites that are trying to do just that.’
However, Lovejoy had other ideas and in a brief, but very clear, clip can be seen zooming away to safety from the Sun’s fiery clutches.
Robert Massey, from the Royal Astronomical Society, was stunned by Lovejoy's close encounter.
He told MailOnline: ‘It was an extraordinary event. Lovejoy was incredibly close to the Sun, closer to the Sun than the Earth is to the Moon.
‘And it’s certainly a pretty rare event. The Solar Heliospheric Observatory [Note: the video is from the Solar Dynamics Observatory] has seen many examples of comets being destroyed as they approached the Sun and there was a great deal of interest in this because there was an expectation of spectacular debris.
‘I suppose if something is big and tough enough it will survive. This event tells us that the comet was rather more robust than expected. Doubtless it had a very rough ride though!’
Mr Massey explained that comets have probably survived skirmishes with the Sun before, but we just haven’t been able to see them.
‘It just shows how good the technology is now,’ he added.
