Science Space Watch as the Sun Vaporizes the Fastest Object in the Solar System By Michael d'Estries Writer State University of New York at Geneseo Michael d’Estries has been writing about science, culture, space and sustainability since 2005. His writing has appeared on Business Insider, CNN, and Forbes. our editorial process Michael d'Estries Updated May 31, 2017 On August 4th, a sungrazing comet traveling at neatly 1.34 million mph was vaporized by the sun. . (Photo: SOHO/NASA/ESA) Share Twitter Pinterest Email Science Space Natural Science Technology Agriculture Energy The fastest object in our solar system, discovered only Aug. 1., is no more. On Aug. 4, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) captured the final moments of a comet barreling towards the sun at a mind-blowing 1.34 million mph. You can watch in the video above. "This comet didn’t fall into the sun, but rather whipped around it — or at least, it would have if it had survived its journey," reported NASA in a release. "Like most sungrazing comets, this comet was torn apart and vaporized by the intense forces near the sun." Sungrazers tend to come from the Kreutz family of comets, which may have at one point made up a much larger single comet. Originating from the distant outer solar system, their orbits around the sun can take upwards of 800 years to complete. Since its launch in 2006, the SOHO satellite has recorded nearly 3,000 sungrazers. Because their encounters take them so close to the sun, sometimes only thousands of miles above its surface, these comets often do not survive for a return journey home. You can learn more about how the SOHO satellite has helped us map out these comets in the video below.