Researchers photographed a new comet hovering over the outer edge of the Sun during a total solar eclipse on December 14, 2020.
The comet was first discovered by Thai astronomer Worachate Boonplod via satellite data during NASA’s Sungrazer Project. This is a science project inviting people to find and discover new comets from photos taken by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Sun and Japan Observatory (SOHO). Boonplod discovered the comet on December 13, the day before the eclipse. The astronomer experiences an imminent eclipse and predicts that a new comet could appear in the Sun’s outer atmosphere as a small dot on event photos.
The comet was named C / 2020 X3 (SOHO) by the Small Planet Center, which is a Kreutz comet. This family of comets originated from a large parent comet that shattered into small pieces over 1,000 years ago and continues to circle the Sun today. Comet Kreutz is most often seen in photos taken by SOHO. SOHO’s camera works by simulating a total eclipse. A hard drive blocks sunlight, revealing faint lines at the outer edge of the atmosphere and many other celestial bodies like comets. So far, 4,108 comets have been discovered thanks to photos taken by SOHO, of which C / 2020 X3 is the 3,524th comet Kreutz that researchers have recorded.
During the total eclipse, the comet moved at a speed of about 724,204 km, 4.3 million km from the surface of the Sun. This comet is about 15 meters in diameter and is as long as a pickup truck. It then disintegrates into dust particles under the influence of strong solar radiation, a few hours before reaching the point closest to the Sun.
