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A large object is now highly visible through various solar
observing instruments and will likely crash into the sun within the next few
hours. The body is currently assumed to be a Kruetz Sungrazer comet. The
object first appeared on instruments only a few hours ago and is rapidly
descending towards the sun.
The object’s dramatic increase in apparent size in the animation below is
likely due to massive gas emissions caused by surface boiling and
sublimation as the body, presumably an icy comet, nears the sun. The second
large object in motion to the right of the sun is the planet Mercury. The
solar impacter’s apparent size in earth-based images is already as large as
Mercury’s, but this is probably an effect of the rapidly billowing gas
envelop surrounding its cometary nucleus. The coma of large comets can swell
to sizes larger than Jupiter and can even rival the sun’s diameter, although
their masses remain comparatively infinitesimal.
The large occlusion disc in the center of the image is used to block the
sun’s blinding light. The dark line emanating to the lower left of the disk
is the shadow of a rod used to hold the disc in place. The inner white
circle on the occlusion disc marks an outline of the sun’s position and
size.
A coronal mass ejection (CME) is occurring in the animation on the left side
of the sun. A poster to a popular message board correctly predicted the 8.8
earthquake in Chile based upon the impending impact of a CME on the earth.
Considering its beeline trajectory, it is highly likely that the current
object will strike the plasma “surface” of the sun, but it is possible that
the body will circle either in front of or behind the sun.
The consequence of the impending impact is unknown, but considering the
apparent mass and speed of the impactor, the body’s plunge into the sun will
likely spawn flares, sunspots and perhaps multiple CMEs.
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