ESA and NASA's SOHO Observatory Marks 5,000th Comet Discovery
The milestone comet, part of the Marsden group, was identified by a citizen scientist, highlighting the success of the collaborative Sungrazer Project.
- A citizen scientist from the Czech Republic discovered the 5,000th comet using data from the SOHO spacecraft, a joint mission of ESA and NASA.
- The newly identified comet belongs to the Marsden group, which orbits the sun approximately every 5.3 years.
- SOHO, launched in 1995 to study the sun, has become the most prolific comet hunter, identifying over half of all known comets.
- The Sungrazer Project, a NASA-funded initiative, has enabled volunteers worldwide to contribute to comet discoveries.
- The project's success demonstrates the valuable contributions of citizen scientists to space research.
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