Sun  ID: 13622

Counting Comets

Released on May 19, 2020
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Music Credit: Birds in The Rain by Robert Guerrier

Complete transcript available.

Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.

The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, a joint mission between the European Space Agency and NASA, was not designed to find comets — its original goal was to study the Sun from its deep core to the outer layers of its atmosphere. But nearly 25 years since its launch, data from this space-based solar observatory has led to the discovery of well over half of all known comets — upwards of 3,950 new comets found. The huge number of SOHO-discovered comets comes thanks to a combination of well-designed instruments, a long lifespan, the hard work of citizen scientists and a little bit of luck.
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Animated GIF of sungrazer comet passing the Sun. Credit: Genna Duberstein
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Animated gif of comets filling the sky. Credit: Genna Duberstein
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Animated GIF of comets vaporizing as they pass the Sun. Credit: Genna Duberstein
 

Related

25 Years of Sun from ESA/NASA's SOHO
Four of Our Favorite SOHO-discovered Comets
Lots of Comets - Long trail version
What is a Sungrazing Comet?

Credits

Karl Battams (Naval Research Laboratory): Lead Scientist
Genna Duberstein (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Lead Producer
Genna Duberstein (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Animator
Scott Wiessinger (USRA): Narrator
Genna Duberstein (ADNET Systems, Inc.): Writer
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center

Short URL to share this page:
https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13622

Mission:
SOHO

This item is part of this series:
Narrated Movies

Keywords:
SVS >> Comet
SVS >> HDTV
SVS >> SOHO
NASA Science >> Sun
SVS >> Kreutz Path
SVS >> Sungrazing Comets