On June 1 and 2, 1998, two comets entered and burned up in Sol’s atmosphere. Interestingly, a coronal mass ejection of gas and magnetic energy occurred on June 2, 1998 following the entrance of the second comet. This solar eruption is believed to be coincidental.
The comets (SOHO-54 and SOHO-55) that burned up in the solar atmosphere are part of a class of comets called “Kreutz Sun-grazers.” This class of comets is named for Heinrich Kreutz, who studied such comets in the late 19th century. These comets are believed to be the remnants of a larger comet that broke apart in the distant past. Such comets commonly pass as close as 30,000 miles from the surface of the Sun.
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is credited with recording this unusual display of back-to-back comet destruction in the Sun. Specifically, the Large-Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) on board the SOHO observed the comets collide with the Sun’s atmosphere.
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This entry also posted in the American Military University Introduction to Astronomy newsgroup.
Scientists have discovered that comets are natural sources of antimatter. The explosions from SOHO-54 and SOHO-55 comets colliding into the sun produced enormous quanities of energy. The energy equals the mass times speed of light squared.
For example on July 23, 2002, a sungrazer comet collided with the Sun and produced enough energy to supply world’s energy needs for 10,000 years. The 23,000 metric ton antimatter comet was about 30 meters in diameter.
3/25/2004 9:29:00 AM