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What a beauty! This is comet C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) passing through the field of view of the LASCO C3 coronagraph.

It wasn't for certain whether it would survive it's closest approach to the sun on January 13th, but it did and delivered us a spectacular show!

https://flic.kr/p/2qFGG1e

#comet #C2024G3 #space #astrodon

C/2024 G3 (ATLAS) from SOHO LASCO C3

Comet C/2024 G3 as seen by the SOHO LASCO C3 coronagraph. Credit: ESA / NASA / LASCO C3 / Simeon Schmauß I processed this from the raw data which looks a lot different - it's dominated by sunglare, so it's hard to see the stars or the solar wind.
Flickr
#Space #Astrodon #comet #c2024g3
Simeon Schmauß
I processed this from the raw data which looks a lot different - it's dominated by sunglare, so it's hard to see the stars or the solar wind. The comet nucleus is also very overexposed, which I repaired in the version above.

The raw data can be accessed here:
https://umbra.nascom.nasa.gov/pub/lasco/lastimage/level_05/
raw version of a lasco image with the comet The solar wind is hidden by the glare and there is a dark shadow from the coronagraph on the top right. The comet shows bright streaking to the left and right of its nucleus due to sensor saturation. raw version of a lasco image with the comet The solar wind is hidden by the glare and there is a dark shadow from the coronagraph on the top right. The comet shows bright streaking to the left and right of its nucleus due to sensor saturation.
Simeon Schmauß
It's incredible to me that the SOHO spacecraft that took these images is already more than 28 years old!
And it almost didn't make it past the two year mark when contact to it was lost in 1998.
The story of how it was recovered is really worth a read:
https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/29/esa_soho_space_extenders/

MPS Göttingen hat dies geteilt

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