The comet Lovejoy was discovered by an amateur astronomer named Terry Lovejoy. In 2011, NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory satellite captured images of Comet Lovejoy as it passed within 140,000 km (87,000 mi.) of the Sun. Instead of evaporating as many predicated, Lovejoy emerged unscathed.

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center. Images and video of Lovejoy comet captured from space courtesy of the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center.