Kamikaze Comets

When sungrazers collide with the sun, they are known as Kamikaze comets: SOHO 6, Christmas Comet; SOHO 54 & 55, Twin Comets; SOHO 294 (Comet C/2001 C2) plus other examples.

The SOHO 6, Christmas Comet, collided with the sun on December 23, 1996, and produce enormous explosions and solar flares as shown in the pictures below.

References NASA Pictures ESA Hotshots

SOHO 54 & 55, Twin Comets, were observed plunging into the Sun on June 1 and 2, 1998, which was followed on June 2 by a dramatic ejection of solar gas and magnetic fields on the Sun's surface.

ESA Hotshots CNN News article Wow! 2 Comets slam into the Sun, which burps, June 4, 1998 NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day NASA movies SOHO Observations of two Sungrazing Comets, June 2, 1998 NASA SOHO picture Solar Eruption on June 2, 1998

The Comet C/2001 C2 (originally designated SOHO-294) was discovered on February 6th 2001, and confirmed as a member of the Kreutz family of sungrazer comets. .

ESA Hotshots ESA News Article, SOHO analyses kamikaze sungrazer, dated February 23, 2001 ESA News updated Article, Comet C/2001 C2 (originally designated SOHO-294) was discovered in LASCO C3 images on 6 February 2000, dated March 26 ,2004 Scientific American Article, Kamikaze Comet Caught on Film, dated February 26, 2001 Spaceflight Now article, SOHO watches kamikaze comet as it plunges into Sun, dated February 23, 2001

The kamikaze comets are some of the documented comets. For more information, please visit American Geophysical Union, Naval Research Laboratory, Science Programs European Space Agency (ESA), Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), NASA, University of Cambridge, and Sebastian's Comet Hunt.

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