Comet survives fiery plunge through sun: NASA[ Fri, 16 Dec 2011 02:27:46 GMT ]A newfound comet defied long odds Thursday, surviving a suicidal dive through the sun's hellishly hot atmosphere, according to NASA scientists. Comet Lovejoy plunged through the sun's corona at about 7 p.m. EST Thursday (midnight GMT on Dec. 16), coming within 87,000 miles of our star's surface.