The 1,000th comet detection belongs to the Kreutz group

Comet quest continues. The latest C / 2006 P7 comet (SOHO) was discovered by an amateur amateur astronomer, Arkadiusz Kubczak.

Latest comet C / 2006 P7 (SOHO) (Photo: elporvenir.com)

As with 999 previous comets, this comet has an orbit that leads to very close to the Sun, with a distance of less than 0.01 astronomical units (ie 1,500,000 km). These objects passed through our star, divided into six groups, the most important being the Kreutz group.

According to astronomers, all of these comets are only fragments from the fragmentation of a large comet Aristote observed in 371 BC. Because of their small size, these objects are invisible to the naked eye from the Earth. Some have evaporated or broken down each time near the Sun.

This 1,000th comet has been identified by SOHO satellite images. Launched in 1995, the satellite specializes in researching the wind and the solar belt. Images taken by SOHO were sent to Earth, processed and published online several hours later.

Before the amount of data to be processed, scientists resorted to amateur astronomers who worked very well, because before SOHO was launched, it was estimated that there were only 30 comets. in Kreutz's group. This is the third comet discovered by Arkadiusz Kubczak.

Location of SOHO-1000 comets and SOHO-999 comet (Photo: astro.cz)

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