In mid-January 2025, comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) was noticed because it approached inside eight million miles of the Solar, providing a surprising show recorded by the ESA and NASA Photo voltaic and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO). The spacecraft captured photos of the comet brightening and its tail extending dramatically because it handed via the Solar’s intense atmosphere. This celestial occasion supplied scientists with a priceless alternative to review the interplay between the photo voltaic wind and the comet’s tail, revealing insights into photo voltaic exercise.
Particulars of the Remark
In keeping with stories from the SOHO mission, the comet was tracked from January 11 to January 2025, utilizing the Giant Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) instrument. The Solar’s gentle was blocked by a disk within the photos, permitting fainter particulars of the photo voltaic corona to be seen. The top of the comet grew to become so luminous throughout its perihelion on 13 January that LASCO’s sensors had been briefly overwhelmed, creating horizontal streaks often known as “bleeding” within the imagery.
Scientific Significance
Karl Battams, the principal investigator of LASCO on the U.S. Naval Analysis Laboratory, acknowledged in a press launch that the comet’s tail demonstrated noticeable responses to fluctuations within the photo voltaic wind. These reactions are being studied to grasp the Solar’s affect on close by objects. LASCO, which has contributed to the invention of over 5,000 comets since its launch, continues to play a significant position in photo voltaic and heliospheric research.
Visibility and Present Standing
Experiences from an official press launch of NASA point out that comet ATLAS was briefly seen within the Northern Hemisphere after sundown throughout its closest method. Nonetheless, the comet is now receding and is finest noticed from the Southern Hemisphere. Astronomers have prompt that the comet might have fragmented after its photo voltaic encounter, elevating the potential of a fast dimming within the coming days.
The SOHO mission is a collaborative mission managed by NASA and ESA, with mission operations led by NASA’s Goddard House Flight Heart.
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Comet C/2024 G3, ATLAS, Photo voltaic and Heliospheric Observatory, SOHO, Solar, Photo voltaic Wind, Astronomical Occasions, Cometary Tail, House Science, Perihelion, NASA, ESA
