A comet many people thought would be destroyed when it brushed by the Sun on 16 December, Comet Lovejoy has provided a memorable show for observers in the southern hemisphere. So much so, that it has already been called the great Christmas comet of 2011.
Discovered by the Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy on 27th November, the comet sprouted a bright tail as it plunged towards perihelion and into the sights of five different solar-observation spacecraft. As the comet's icy core raced in a tight arc around the Sun, it appeared to leave its tail suspended in the Sun's atmosphere, only for a spectacular new one to develop as Comet Lovejoy began to pull away from the Sun over the following days.
