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solar flare blows off a comet's tail (movie)

Martin
in Astronomy and Cosmology

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movie taken by a NASA probe

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2007/01oct_encke.htm?list45222

 

Comet Encke was in near the sun and sporting quite a splendid tail

while being observed by a NASA probe that was also in near the sun

 

the sun occasionally has these Corona Mass Ejection (CME) eruptions which

send plasma out at high speed and cause AURORA when they get to Earth and impinge on our polar atmosphere

 

the probe got a movie of one of these CME ripping off Comet Encke tail.

 

They play it slow at first so you can notice details and then they speed the movie up so you can see the tail being carried away downstream by the CME wind.

That's cool.

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