On April 8, 2024, Comet SOHO-5008 was spotted and photographed during a solar eclipse before its fast disintegration. Credit: Petr Horálek (Institute of Physics in Opava), Josef Kujal (Astronomy Society in Hradec Králové), Milan HlaváčA surprise look of a new comet made the April 8th overall solar eclipse all the more memorable.Any devoted umbraphile will tell you: no 2 eclipses are exactly the same. Weather condition, solar activity, and the simply plain expeditionary nature of reaching and standing in the shadow of the Moon for those brief moments during totality ensures a distinct experience, whenever out. The exact same can be stated for capturing a quick glance of whats going on near the Sun, from prominences and the pearly white corona to the configuration of intense planets … and just perhaps, a new comet.The DiscoveryWhile many planned to attempt and spy routine Comet 12P Pons-Brooks throughout totality, astronomer Karl Battams at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory alerted us to another possibility. A brand-new sungrazing comet, found just hours prior. The Kreutz family comet was seen by Worachate Boonplod in the field of view of the joint NASA/ESA Solar Heliospheric Observatorys (SOHO) LASCO C3 and C2 imagers. These are geared up with Sun-covering coronagraphs that enable it to see the near solar environment. The objective was released over a quarter of a century earlier in 1995. SOHO was released to the sunward L1 Earth-Sun Lagrange point almost a million miles distant. SOHO has actually given that shown itself to be an important workhorse in solar heliophysics.Doomed SOHO-5008 (lower left). Source: SOHO/NASA, ESA.The comet soon received the formal classification of SOHO-5008. Thats right: SOHO has resulted in the discovery of over 5,000 comets in its career. Most of these discoveries were thanks to the efforts of dedicated online sleuths, scouring current LASCO images.At the time, the doomed comet was a faint item, situated just a few degrees from the Sun. The icy trespasser was a tough target to nab throughout the fleeting minutes of totality, but at least two dedicated astrophotographers handled to catch it. Lin Zixuan saw it imaging from northern New Hampshire. Petr Horálek from the Institute of Physics in Opava Czechia (Czech Republic) was imaging from Mexico as he caught the object.Like numerous other sungrazers, the comet fulfilled its death quickly after discovery (less than 12 hours, in fact), like a sundiving spaceship at a Disaster Area show right out of Douglas Adams Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.A Brief History of SungrazersThis sort of SOHO versus comet, versus eclipse discovery has just happened twice: as soon as in 2008 and again in 2020). SOHO wasnt developed per se to find comets, however its prolific nature as a comet hunter has actually become an important part of the legacy of the objective. SOHO has actually defined entire new families of Kreutz, Marsden and Kracht sungrazing comets. And to believe, prior to the objective, just sixteen sungrazing comets were even understood of.One comparable case was the Great Comet of 1948, which was likewise found by stunned observers throughout a total solar eclipse. Another was C/1965 Ikeya-Seki, which went on to become one of the truly terrific comets of the 20th century. More just recently, C/2011 W3 Lovejoy amazed everybody by enduring its perihelion passage 140,000 kilometers from the surface area of the Sun. Simply one year later on, nevertheless, 2012 S1 ISON didnt. It was a thrilling celestial spectacle, with an added treat.Adapted from a short article initially released on Universe Today.
The Kreutz household comet was seen by Worachate Boonplod in the field of view of the joint NASA/ESA Solar Heliospheric Observatorys (SOHO) LASCO C3 and C2 imagers. Petr Horálek from the Institute of Physics in Opava Czechia (Czech Republic) was imaging from Mexico as he captured the object.Like so many other sungrazers, the comet fulfilled its demise soon after discovery (less than 12 hours, in fact), like a sundiving spaceship at a Disaster Area concert right out of Douglas Adams Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.A Brief History of SungrazersThis sort of SOHO versus comet, versus eclipse discovery has just occurred twice: when in 2008 and once again in 2020). SOHO wasnt designed per se to find comets, however its respected nature as a comet hunter has become an essential part of the legacy of the objective. And to think, prior to the mission, only sixteen sungrazing comets were even understood of.One similar case was the Great Comet of 1948, which was also discovered by stunned observers during a total solar eclipse.
