The comet was the size of a semitruck and traveled 450,000 miles per hour
It was 2.7 million miles from the sun when it disintegrated in the radiation
A newly discovered comet was spotted flying 2.7 million miles from the sun during last week s solar eclipse before disintegrating into dust particles from the intense radiation.
Named C/2020 X3 (SOHO), the comet was discovered by an amateur astronomer who sifted through satellite data the day before the total solar eclipse on December 14.
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The comet was part of the Kreutz sungrazer family, which originated from a large parent comet that broke into smaller fragments thousands of years ago.
Solar eclipse plunges southern Chile, Argentina into darkness
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PUCON, Chile, Dec 15, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Thousands of people turned their heads to the sky to watch a solar eclipse that lasted around two minutes on Monday as southern Chile and Argentina were plunged into darkness.
Heavy rain had threatened to prevent star gazers in Chile from seeing the eclipse but at the last moment the clouds parted just enough for the phenomenon to be partially visible.
“It was beautiful, unique. The truth is that no-one held much hope of seeing it due to the weather and clouds, but it was unique because it cleared up just in time. It was a miracle,” an emotional Matias Tordecilla, 18, told AFP in the town of Pucon on the shores of Lake Villarrica.
Full article It was the second total eclipse for Chile in the last 18 months. This one struck at 1pm (1600 GMT) as thousands of tourists and residents gathered (Pic AFP) In Argentine Patagonia, several families and foreigners had set up camp between the towns of Villa El Chocon and Piedra del Aguila hoping to see the eclipse Dozens of amateur and professional scientists set up telescopes on the slopes of the Villarrica volcano, to observe the phenomenon when the moon passes between the sun and Earth
Thousands of people turned their heads to the sky to watch a solar eclipse that lasted around two minutes on Monday as southern Chile and Argentina were plunged into darkness. Heavy rain had threatened to prevent star gazers in Chile from seeing the eclipse but at the last moment, the clouds parted just enough for the phenomenon to be partially visible.
We Just Had The Only Total Solar Eclipse of 2020, And The Photos Are Amazing
ALBERTO PEÑA, AFP
14 DECEMBER 2020
Thousands of people turned their heads to the sky to watch a solar eclipse that lasted around two minutes on Monday as southern Chile and Argentina were plunged into darkness.
Heavy rain had threatened to prevent star gazers in Chile from seeing the eclipse but at the last moment the clouds parted just enough for the phenomenon to be partially visible.
It was beautiful, unique. The truth is that no-one held much hope of seeing it due to the weather and clouds, but it was unique because it cleared up just in time. It was a miracle, an emotional Matias Tordecilla, 18, told AFP in the town of Pucon on the shores of Lake Villarrica.