Friday, June 7, 2013

Comet Lovejoy, from SDO to Science and the BBC

The perihelion passage of Comet Lovejoy is described in an article at the BBC. The research article, by Cooper Downs and Karel Schrijver and others, shows how the comet's tail reacts to the coronal magnetic field as it moves along that field. That article appears in Science magazine. Sun-grazing comets that can be seen in the EUV give us a new window on the world of the corona. It is a shame they are rare, but Comet ISON may be a good show this Thanksgiving Day.

Dr. Downs was interviewed on today's episode of Science Friday. It sounded good and a video of Comet Lovejoy is also posted on the site.