Mysterious comet to be visible from Earth: Space telescope spots unusual comet 'never seen before' as it SURVIVES close encounter with the sun

  • Scientists say the comet does not fit into any of the known comet families
  • It grazed past the sun at a distance of 2.2 million miles from the surface 
  • Few comets survive coming that close to the sun, making this one unusual
  • The comet was seen to develop a tail as solar material erupts from the sun
  • Scientists say it may become visible from Earth as it continues its journey

By Richard Gray for MailOnline

Published: | Updated:

An unusual comet that is unlike anything seen before by scientists is expected to become visible from Earth in the coming weeks.

Nasa and the European Space Agency's Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, also called SOHO, spotted the comet as it skimmed past the sun.

The is not thought to belong to any known family of comets and scientists have been left baffled as to how it survived its close encounter with the sun.

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Comet SOHO2875 can be seen developing a tail in the image above as it moves away from the sun while a coronal mass ejection - an eruption of solar material - is thrown out into space by from the sun's surface

Comet SOHO2875 can be seen developing a tail in the image above as it moves away from the sun while a coronal mass ejection - an eruption of solar material - is thrown out into space by from the sun's surface

The comet raced past the star at the centre of our solar system at a distance of just 2.2 million miles from the sun's surface.

COMETS ARE LIKE FRIED ICE CREAM

If you've ever bitten into deep fried ice cream, you might have experienced a taste and texture that was out of this world - in more ways than one.

That's because, according to Nasa, the structure of Comet 67P - which Esa's Rosetta spacecraft is currently orbiting - resembles the popular dessert.

In an experiment, they found that while the exterior of a comet is encased in a hard, outer crust, the interior would mostly be fluffy ice.

The scientists said the crust is made of crystalline ice while the interior is colder and porous. Organic molecules like those found on Comet 67P are like a 'final layer of chocolate' on top. 

Most comets that come that close do not survive the trip, according to solar scientists who study images beamed back by SOHO.

Yet this comet managed to survive, said Dr Karl Battams, a solar scientist at the Naval Reearch Laboratory in Washington DC.

However, he warned the close encounter with the sun may have taken its toll.

He said: 'There's a half-decent chance that ground observers might be able to detect it in the coming weeks.

'But it's also possible that events during its trip around the sun will cause it to die fairly fast.'

Scientists are now attempting to calculate the path the new comet.

SOHO was initally designed to study the internal structure of the sun and the huge explosions that send the solar wind racing across the solar system.

However, it has also become a major source of comet discoveries as these giant balls of ice and rock light up as they encounter the intense streams of ionized gas that is thrown out by the sun. 

Now SOHO has discovered 2,875 comets. 

Most belong to the Kreutz family, which all broke off from a single giant comet many centuries ago.

This latest comet, however, does not bear any resemblance to these other comets nor any other family known. Such non-group comets only occur a few times a year.

In a video released by Nasa the comet can be seen appearing on Febuary 19 and taking a huge curving path away from the sun.

Towards the end of the video, as the comet begins to develop a tail, a coronal mass ejection from the sun throws huge amonts of solar material into space.

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