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In October 2024, something BRIGHT
passed in front of one of our spacecraft:

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a comet visiting us from the outer
reaches of our solar system!

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Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS
blazed through

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the field of view of 
ESA/NASA's SOHO spacecraft,

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which studies the Sun from
about 1 million miles away from Earth.

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This is the second-brightest comet
SOHO has ever recorded

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and it's been spotting comets
since its launch in 1995 –

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something the mission
never expected to study!

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As the comet crossed out of view,

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SOHO spotted the trail 
of dust it left behind.

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Because of the trail's
orientation to SOHO,

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it appears as the bright

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diagonal “streak” across the image,
like a sheet of paper viewed edge on.

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Also visible as the comet passes by
are a series of eruptions from the Sun,

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which launch solar energetic particles –
seen as white “flecks” across the image.

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With the help of volunteer scientists
across the globe,

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over 5,000 comets have been
discovered in SOHO imagery.