Comet Hits Sun, Cool Explosion Coincidental [Video]

In case you needed more proof that the sun is not the smiling, yellow, jolly ball in the sky that you saw in your childhood coloring books, take a look at the video above. In it, a comet flies straight into the sun, but the massive orb of flaming gas more-or-less responsible for the beginning and continuation of life on this planet doesn’t even flinch. That big burst? Just a coronal mass ejection that occurred coincidentally.

The comet is probably from the Kreutz group, the remnants of a larger comet that broke up when it cruised to close to the all-consuming death ball in the center of our solar system. While this kind of event probably happens all the time, that doesn’t make it any less impressive.

(NASA via Gizmodo)