A Czech citizen detected a comet in a picture from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, and it has now been confirmed as the 5,000th comet discovered using SOHO data.
Sun and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
- The European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA jointly operate the SOHO spacecraft.
- Launched in December 1995, its primary goal is to study the Sun, specifically its outer atmosphere, known as the corona, and the solar wind.
- SOHO examines the Sun at multiple wavelengths of light, allowing scientists to study phenomena such as sunspots, solar flares, and coronal mass ejections.
- SOHO orbits the Sun at Lagrange Point L1, which is about 1.5 million kilometres (almost 1 million miles) from Earth and provides an unobstructed view of the sun.
- Its observations have led to discoveries such as-
- Identifying solar wind sources,
- tracking eruptions, and
- monitoring variations in the Sun’s activity during an 11-year cycle.
Source: https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/heliophysics/esa-nasa-solar-observatory-discovers-its-5000th-comet/