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Solar News 2008
January 2007 December · November · October · September · August · July · June · May · April · March · February · More... October 1, 2007  The Sun Rips Off a Comet's Tail (NASA Feature) Comet Encke never knew what hit it. On April 20, 2007, the comet had just dipped inside the orbit of Mercury, perilously close to the sun, when a solar eruption struck and literally tore the comet's tail off. This surely has happened to comets before, but for the first time in history a spacecraft was watching. NASA's STEREO-A probe recorded a fantastic movie of the collision. |
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