SOHO Pick of the Week 500th Edition and Comet Lovejoy Captured by the IS...

Eight Days a Week (and 16 years since launch)-Dec. 2, 2011 Since the Sun produced about a dozen coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in eight days, it did seem like it was working overtime (Nov. 22-28, 2011). The SOHO C2 coronagraph shows the storms (both large and small) blasting out in different directions. The Sun itself taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory in extreme UV light was scaled appropriately and superimposed on the coronagraph for the same time period. It took over 1300 frames.

Comet Lovejoy Dives Toward the Sun
This video loops 3 times. Another instrument watching for the comet was the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which adjusted its cameras in order to watch the trajectory. Not only does this help with comet research—such as how big the comet is and what it's made of -- but it may also help orient instruments on SDO. Since the scientists know where the comet is based on other spacecraft, they can finely determine the position of SDO's mirrors.

Station Commander Captures Unprecedented View of Comet
International Space Station Commander Dan Burbank captured spectacular imagery of Comet Lovejoy as seen from about 240 miles above the Earth's horizon on Wednesday, Dec. 21. Burbank described seeing the comet as "the most amazing thing I have ever seen in space,"

Music by Epic Score - Darkness Rises