The Sungrazer Project’s SOHO Space Telescope Hits Milestone with 5000th Comet Discovery
The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) space telescope, part of the Sungrazer project, has recently identified its 5000th comet. This is a significant (and somewhat unforeseen) milestone for both NASA and ESA.
Originally intended to be primarily a solar observer, the SOHO space telescope has turned out to be a real comet hunter over the years. The name SOHO itself suggests its initial purpose – monitoring the sun and its surroundings, known as the sun’s ‘corona’. Publicly accessible SOHO images captured the attention of many space enthusiasts. These enthusiasts’ constant vigilance resulted in numerous comet discoveries near the sun, leading NASA and ESA scientists to initiate the Sungrazer Project to officially record these findings. Now, the project celebrates a significant vestige with the discovery of the SOHO-5000 comet. Relevant images and details can be found on the website of The Sungrazer Project and in the SOHO gallery.
Detailing Comet SOHO-5000
Let us delve into the details of the SOHO-5000 comet. It turns out to be a relatively small celestial body composed mainly of ice and rock. This comet did not simply fly by; researchers believe that it has been lingering in the vicinity for some time. They suspect that the comet is part of the Marsden group – a collection of comets possibly related to comet 96P/Machholz. In this respect, SOHO-5000 is somewhat unique: out of 5000 comets, only about 75 are part of the Marsden group.
A Space Enthusiast’s Discovery
The comet was identified by space enthusiast, Hanjie Tan. Participating in The Sungrazer Project since he was 13, Tan is currently studying astronomy in Prague. In his words, “I joined the project in 2009. Since then, I have discovered over 200 comets. I find spotting comets fascinating; it is incredibly exciting to be the first to spot a comet. Especially because these comets often start to glow as they approach the sun.” Tan is one of the youngest participants in the project.
The ability of the SOHO space telescope to identify so many comets is attributed to its use of a physical disk to block direct sunlight, enabling the study of the area surrounding the sun. An additional advantage comes into play: with sunlight blocked, SOHO can much better spot comets that would otherwise have remained hidden.
Role of Volunteers in the Achievement
This milestone is significant because it shows the importance of projects like The Sungrazer Project. Scientist Karl Battams, the project’s lead, explains, “Before the SOHO mission began (in 1995), we had only identified a small number of comets. The fact that we have now recorded more than 5000 comets is truly astounding. Combined, these comets provide an extremely unique dataset that is incredibly valuable to science. Achieving this milestone was only possible thanks to the many volunteers who dedicate countless hours to the project.”
