Comet Lovejoy! But it's a comet. Here it tells a different story otherwise, not the one we tend to hold for such sight of Karma Dhuwa Jukring (Long smoky tailed star), favorable from the name given. An aesthete's judgement, may be; absolutely different perspective consumable from its beauty. But our hold seems to prove some validity so far despite being rather aberrant to a seeing mind.
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Christmas Comet Lovejoy
Photograph by Alex Cherney, TWAN
Comet Lovejoy seems to dive into the sunrise as seen from Cape Schanck in Melbourne, Australia, last Friday.
Officially known as C/2011 W3, comet Lovejoy was discovered by amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy of Brisbane, Australia, in late November. The ball of ice and dust was identified as a Kreutz sungrazer, a family of comets thought to be fragments from a larger body that broke up centuries ago.
Astronomers predicted comet Lovejoy would be destroyed when it made a close pass by the sun late on December 15, eastern time. But to the surprise of many—including its discoverer—the comet survived its solar encounter and reappeared after a few hours.
Although Lovejoy lost its original tail as it skimmed the sun's surface, the comet "reappeared almost like a point and redeveloped a tail on the way out, which I thought was quite amazing," astronomer Lovejoy told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Comet Lovejoy became visible to the naked eye in the Southern Hemisphere last week—and continued to streak across predawn skies through the holiday weekend.
Published December 27, 2011
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