Comments on: NASA’S SDO captures final moments of a comet streaking across the Sun

By: Enlaces de Astronomía: Semana 04-07-2011 « Campos de Estrellas

Enlaces de Astronomía: Semana 04-07-2011 « Campos de Estrellas — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 20:34:36 +0000

[...] NASA’S SDO captures final moments of a comet streaking across the Sun. [...]

By: MW

MW — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 01:19:50 +0000

I reckon it is a fake – it was all photoshopped.

The number one failure of photoshoppers is to not get the shadows right on stuff they’ve added. Have a good look at this video – if it is so close to the surface, why can’t we see is its shadow? Huh? Can’t answer that one, can you!

(Yes, I am kidding.)

By: psuedonymous

psuedonymous — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 23:57:13 +0000

Managed to track it down to a different site (http://www.lmsal.com/get_aia_data/) that indicates that there’s a 5-day period before AIA data is available

By: psuedonymous

psuedonymous — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 23:25:01 +0000

That’s what I was using. 5/6 June, AIA171, no sign of anything like in Phil’s video (and trying to squint out the timecodes at the bottom-left, there don’t even appear to be images available for those times).

By: jearley

jearley — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 19:24:13 +0000

#19-psuedonymous
Missed out by two minutes getting it directly from one of the former SDO project scientists- he was just in here telling how SOLIS worked. anyway, here:

http://sdo.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/dataaccess.php

This should give you access to the raw data feed. Good luck!

By: psuedonymous

psuedonymous — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:39:29 +0000

I’m trying to find the images from the SDO archive, but I’m coming up with zip. Can anyone more familiar with how to ferret out the raw images lend a hand?

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:02:45 +0000

That wasn’t a comet. That was the Destiny refueling!
(Long live Stargate: Universe!)

By: Kat

Kat — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 13:54:09 +0000

Coooooool…..reminds me of a stone skipping across a lake. A lake of fire, in this case.

By: Crux Australis

Crux Australis — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 01:46:57 +0000

Comet Icarus.

By: Messier Tidy Upper

Messier Tidy Upper — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 23:55:07 +0000

@10. Pete Jackson :

OK, we have a great opportunity for you amateur image processors here. The Sun is virtually unchanged from frame to frame on the video. How about a new video showing only the frame-to-frame differences? That should show the comet only!

Great idea and I second that suggestion.

But is our Sun really completely static enough even during that short an interval or would its rotation (differential rotation too – faster in some parts than others at that) be noticeable and a possible issue?

@4. Buxley :

That’s no comet! Obviously it’s the starship Enterprise slingshotting around the sun!Or maybe I’ve just watched WAY too much Star Trek for my own good. =)

Maybe I have too – but do you mean the Enterprise or perhaps a captured Klingon whaling ship instead?

@5. Douglas Troy : LOL!

By: Messier Tidy Upper

Messier Tidy Upper — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 23:35:03 +0000

Astronomers are even now going over the data from the event to see if they can determine the comet’s fate.

Er .. I’m guessing it vapourised!

Or are they expecting it to go all the way through and emerge out the other side?

I know this was taken in UV but what would the contrast have been in terms of visual magnitude – our daytime star at minus twenty seven apparent mag and this comet at .. well, what? Quite a few orders of magnitude less surely!

By: Astrofiend

Astrofiend — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 23:18:04 +0000

Went to a SDO colloquium the other day. Goddamn this thing is doing some amazing work. Solar astronomers everywhere are literally freaking out with joy over their arsenal of weapons in orbit at the moment, and they are reaping the harvest HANDSOMELY.

By: Messier Tidy Upper

Messier Tidy Upper — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 23:15:05 +0000

Wow. Neat video. But don’t blink!

Was that comet only discovered as it died or was it one of those that are known already?

By: Charles

Charles — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 23:15:05 +0000

R.I.P. Comet

By: Pete Jackson

Pete Jackson — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 23:10:14 +0000

OK, we have a great opportunity for you amateur image processors here. The Sun is virtually unchanged from frame to frame on the video. How about a new video showing only the frame-to-frame differences? That should show the comet only!

By: Grand Lunar

Grand Lunar — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 22:55:52 +0000

The comet’s fate seems pretty clear to me; it’s roasted!

By: Tensor

Tensor — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 21:51:58 +0000

What surprised me was that I could see it better in full speed rather than half speed.

By: “Directo al Sol” « [Px]

“Directo al Sol” « [Px] — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 21:37:44 +0000

[...] NASA First-Ever View of a Sungrazer Comet In Front of the Sun [...]

By: Jon

Jon — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 21:26:02 +0000

Trillions? That’s a really big number. Billions, certainly, but trillions? Hm.
j.

By: Douglas Troy

Douglas Troy — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 21:15:53 +0000

In what would later be viewed as a total failure on Ralph Kramden’s part to take into account the effect of Earth’s Magnetic field on his wife’s jewelry, Alice actually went “straight to the sun”.

By: Buxley

Buxley — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 20:19:22 +0000

That’s no comet! Obviously it’s the starship Enterprise slingshotting around the sun!

Or maybe I’ve just watched WAY too much Star Trek for my own good. =)

-Buxley

By: Michael Swanson

Michael Swanson — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:57:58 +0000

So strange. A ball of ice and dirt floats around for a few billion years and then…oops! Too close to the Sun. Gone.

By: Para mi siguiente truco necesitaré un cometa y el Sol — Amazings.es

Para mi siguiente truco necesitaré un cometa y el Sol — Amazings.es — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:25:05 +0000

[...] así, no había mucho que enseñar, pero esta tarde Phil Plait ha subido el vídeo en HD desde el telescopio SDO y, si te fijas mucho, puedes apreciar mejor el [...]

By: Catalina

Catalina — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 19:02:29 +0000

Whenever I see these sort of images I turn 7 again and have to say: AWESOME!!!!

I guess Astronomy/Astrophysics is the best fountain of youth for folks like me. Thank you