Is SOHO currently showing a comet falling into the Sun?

[Jigsaw]

Hanging out at Godlike (yeah, I know, I know), but they're reporting that SOHO is showing a comet falling into the sun. Real or no?

Somebody posted this link.
http://ares.nrl.navy.mil/sungrazer/recent.html

[ToSeek]

Doesn't look like it to me - he references two images, and I see little streaks in both of them, but nothing in the intervening images. That means it's probably a cosmic ray hit or somesuch.

Meanwhile, you can see Venus coming into view on the right. I'm sure the GLPers are going to make much of that.

[Jigsaw]

Oh yeah.

http://www.godlikeproductions.com/bb...week=7/14/2003

It has a "tail" (due to the CCD I guess) and this apparently "proves" something or other about the Sun heating up and the solar system heating up and just generally Life As We Know It about to end.

Actually, Moose Tracks raises a good point--isn't the SOHO camera rotated 180 degrees? So isn't Venus supposed to be coming in on the other side or something?

I also ran across someone in another GLP thread who said that it's not Venus, it's Praesepe. I have no way of knowing, personally.

But I am pretty sure it's not a suncruiser.

[ToSeek]

Actually, Moose Tracks raises a good point--isn't the SOHO camera rotated 180 degrees? So isn't Venus supposed to be coming in on the other side or something?

The images have been rotated 180 degrees to compensate - that's why the holding arm for the occulter is on the opposite side now. So the images still show the Sun, etc., the same way.

[beskeptical]

Common sense folks!

Do you think non-astronomers are going to see SOHO images on the web and discover anything in them? Like the folks at NASA are going to miss something as big as a comet on the satellite image and these goofballs are going to look at their computer screens and discover it?

I think their premise is that NASA is showing the SOHO pictures but covering up what's on them. That is just plain nuts. :roll:

If you are interested in what might be in view on SOHO try http://www.spaceweather.com . They have a daily (sometimes more often; weekends usually less) update on interesting SOHO events.

[Jigsaw]

Right, I already know that's their premise, I was just checking to make sure, I don't always hear all the announcements of events on the sun.

And yeah, they all already have all the SOHO and Spaceweather links there are, even some that I never heard of, because they don't trust the "Best Of" archives to show them what's really happening, they wanna look at all the realtime pix for themselves. But thanx for the link anyway.

[beskeptical]

Now that we have broadband, I like to go to all the detailed sites as well. I think a comet hitting the Sun would have been BIG news, not something anyone is likely to miss hearing about.

[digitalspector]

few finally found a SOHO post, as to not clutter the board.

I ran into this little guy. Was just curious on ideas of what the white beam is....not the CCD overexposure....but if you look there is a white beam at a 45 degree angle....coming from the left side of venus.

Was just curious...what would cause a glitch like this.


its a gif animation.

http://www.suezy.com/odds/C3%2008_03%20Odd%20Beam.gif

[Kaptain K]

Actually, several comets have been discovered by "data miners" who study SOHO images after they have been made public. 8)

[Jigsaw]

Was just curious on ideas of what the white beam is....not the CCD overexposure....but if you look there is a white beam at a 45 degree angle....coming from the left side of venus.

It's showing up nicely on this picture. I have no idea what it is, other than some kind of optical effect. It looks like a coronal streamer, but I don't think Venus has those.

Anybody else?

[Donnie B.]

Please see my reply in the separate thread.