Complete transcript available.
Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.
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"https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013600/a013622/Counting_CometsAPR.mov", "filename": "Counting_CometsAPR.mov", "media_type": "Movie", "alt_text": "Music Credit: Birds in The Rain by Robert GuerrierComplete transcript available.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.", "width": 1920, "height": 1080, "pixels": 2073600 } }, { "id": 228102, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 849569, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013600/a013622/13622Comets.en_US.srt", "filename": "13622Comets.en_US.srt", "media_type": "Captions", "alt_text": "Music Credit: Birds in The Rain by Robert GuerrierComplete transcript available.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.", "label": "English", "language_code": "" } }, { "id": 228103, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 849570, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013600/a013622/13622Comets.en_US.vtt", "filename": "13622Comets.en_US.vtt", "media_type": "Captions", "alt_text": "Music Credit: Birds in The Rain by Robert GuerrierComplete transcript available.Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.", "label": "English", "language_code": "" } } ], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 319868, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13622/#media_group_319868", "widget": "Basic text with HTML", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "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.", "items": [], "extra_data": {} }, { "id": 319870, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13622/#media_group_319870", "widget": "Single image", "title": "", "caption": "", "description": "Animated GIF of sungrazer comet passing the Sun. Credit: Genna Duberstein", "items": [ { "id": 228104, "type": "media", "extra_data": null, "title": null, "caption": null, "instance": { "id": 385040, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013600/a013622/first_comet.gif", "filename": "first_comet.gif", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Animated GIF of sungrazer comet passing the Sun. 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The comet is small and has a short orbital period around the Sun. It belongs to the “Marsden group” of comets, which are thought to be related to the larger comet 96P/Machholz. The group is named after the late scientist Brian Marsden, who first recognized the group using SOHO observations.To learn more about the discovery and SOHO, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/science-research/heliophysics/esa-nasa-solar-observatory-discovers-its-5000th-comet/Since the early 2000s, the Sungrazer Project has allowed anyone with a computer to search for comets in images taken by the SOHO spacecraft.To learn more about the Sungrazer Project, visit: https://science.nasa.gov/citizen-science/the-sungrazer-project/ || ", "release_date": "2024-03-27T10:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2024-03-26T15:33:26.792521-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 1090387, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a014500/a014552/SOHO4995.00030_print.jpg", "filename": "SOHO4995.00030_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This annotated movie from the European Space Agency & NASA’s SOHO observatory shows the 4,995th comet discovered by the spacecraft as it speeds toward the Sun on March 14, 2024.Credit: ESA/NASA/SOHO/Karl Battams", "width": 1024, "height": 757, "pixels": 775168 } }, { "id": 13775, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13775/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "25 Years of Sun from ESA/NASA's SOHO", "description": "December 2, 1995 marks the 25th anniversary of the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, or SOHO — a joint mission of the European Space Agency and NASA. 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Throughout the video, the Sun releases bursts of material called coronal mass ejections: fast-moving clouds of solar material that can trigger space weather effects on Earth — like auroras, communications problems, and even power outages — and for spacecraft in their path. These storms are more frequent near solar maximum, the period approximately every 11 years when the Sun’s activity is at a high point. The dark area that migrates between the lower left and the upper right of the image is caused by the coronagraph’s occulter arm, which holds the disk to block out the Sun’s face. It appears to change positions periodically as the spacecraft rolls to keep its high-gain antenna, used to transmit data, pointed towards Earth. The occasional blank squares are caused by corrupted data. The bright, horizontally elongated objects that pass through the field of view are planets, which can be so bright that they saturate pixels along the same row. The video begins in 1998 because of a change in the way data was stored after the mission’s first two years. Footage courtesy of The U.S. Naval Research LaboratoryMusic credits: Interstellar Spacecraft by J.C. Lemay, Earth's Orbit by Andreas Andreas Bolldén, Wind Farm Sunrise by J.C. Lemay, Gentle Rain by Andreas Andreas Bolldén, Icelandic Vapors by Aurelien Riviere, Lonesome Path by Sam Joseph Delves, Above The Peaks by Philippe Jakko, Tear Drop by Sam Joseph Delves, Celestial Pole by Andreas Andreas Bolldén, Positive Outcome by Manuel Bleton, Ethereal Journey by Noé Bailleux, Relaxing Setting by Eddy Pradelles, Happiness Therapy by Eddy Pradelle, Moving Forward by Eddy Pradelles, Android Dream by David Ohana, Shimmering Light by Sam Joseph Delves, Breath Of Air by Sam Joseph Delves, Fresh Breeze by Franck Fossey, Cosmic Sunrise by Sam Joseph DelvesWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 13623, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13623/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Four of Our Favorite SOHO-discovered Comets", "description": "Karl Battams, manager of NASA's citizen science Sungrazer Project, talks about his four favorite comets that SOHO has observed.Music: \"Inducing Waves\" from Universal Production MusicWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available. || 13623_SOHO4FavoriteComets_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.01026_print.jpg (1024x576) [155.4 KB] || 13623_SOHO4FavoriteComets_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.01026_searchweb.png (320x180) [72.1 KB] || 13623_SOHO4FavoriteComets_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.01026_thm.png (80x40) [5.3 KB] || 13623_SOHO4FavoriteComets_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.mov (1920x1080) [3.1 GB] || 13623_SOHO4FavoriteComets_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [245.9 MB] || 13623_SOHO4FavoriteComets_Good_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [128.8 MB] || 13623_SOHO4FavoriteComets_1080.webm (1920x1080) [27.2 MB] || SOHO_4000Comets_SRT_Captions.en_US.srt [4.8 KB] || SOHO_4000Comets_SRT_Captions.en_US.vtt [4.8 KB] || ", "release_date": "2020-06-17T10:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:44:54.843024-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 385045, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a013600/a013623/13623_SOHO4FavoriteComets_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.01026_print.jpg", "filename": "13623_SOHO4FavoriteComets_ProRes_1920x1080_2997.01026_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Karl Battams, manager of NASA's citizen science Sungrazer Project, talks about his four favorite comets that SOHO has observed.Music: \"Inducing Waves\" from Universal Production MusicWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 13643, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/13643/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Four Favorite Comets Seen by SOHO", "description": "To celebrate the discovery of the SOHO spacecraft's 4,000th comet sighting, Naval Research Lab computational scientist Karl Battams shares four of the joint ESA/NASA mission's most memorable comets. || ", "release_date": "2020-06-15T00:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2020-06-10T15:25:17.585955-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 1, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/images/no_preview_web_black.png", "filename": "no_preview_web_black.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Current Airborne Fleet", "width": 320, "height": 180, "pixels": 57600 } }, { "id": 4343, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/4343/", "page_type": "Visualization", "title": "Lots of Comets - Long trail version", "description": "This visualization presents 14 years of comets seen by SOHO from the perspective of an observer orbiting a fixed point above the ecliptic plane with the Sun at the center.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. || LotsaComets-orbit.slate_HAEmove.HD1080i.1000_print.jpg (1024x576) [110.2 KB] || LotsaComets-orbit.slate_HAEmove.HD1080i.1000_searchweb.png (320x180) [71.5 KB] || LotsaComets-orbit.slate_HAEmove.HD1080i.1000_thm.png (80x40) [4.7 KB] || Orbit (1920x1080) [512.0 KB] || LotsaComets-orbit_1080p30.mp4 (1920x1080) [188.3 MB] || LotsaComets-orbit_1080p30.webm (1920x1080) [20.8 MB] || ", "release_date": "2015-09-15T10:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:49:21.329680-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 440905, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a004300/a004343/LotsaComets-orbit.slate_HAEmove.HD1080i.1000_print.jpg", "filename": "LotsaComets-orbit.slate_HAEmove.HD1080i.1000_print.jpg", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "This visualization presents 14 years of comets seen by SOHO from the perspective of an observer orbiting a fixed point above the ecliptic plane with the Sun at the center.This video is also available on our YouTube channel.", "width": 1024, "height": 576, "pixels": 589824 } }, { "id": 11307, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/11307/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "What is a Sungrazing Comet?", "description": "Sungrazing comets are a special class of comets that come very close to the sun at their nearest approach, a point called perihelion. To be considered a sungrazer, a comet needs to get within about 850,000 miles from the sun at perihelion. Many come even closer, even to within a few thousand miles. Being so close to the sun is very hard on comets for many reasons. They are subjected to a lot of solar radiation which boils off their water or other volatiles. The physical push of the radiation and the solar wind also helps form the tails. And as they get closer to the sun, the comets experience extremely strong tidal forces, or gravitational stress. In this hostile environment, many sungrazers do not survive their trip around the sun. Although they don't actually crash into the solar surface, the sun is able to destroy them anyway. Many sungrazing comets follow a similar orbit, called the Kreutz Path, and collectively belong to a population called the Kreutz Group. In fact, close to 85% of the sungrazers seen by the SOHO satellite are on this orbital highway. Scientists think one extremely large sungrazing comet broke up hundreds, or even thousands, of years ago, and the current comets on the Kreutz Path are the leftover fragments of it. As clumps of remnants make their way back around the sun, we experience a sharp increase in sungrazing comets, which appears to be going on now. Comet Lovejoy, which reached perihelion on December 15, 2011 is the best known recent Kreutz-group sungrazer. And so far, it is the only one that NASA's solar-observing fleet has seen survive its trip around the sun. Comet ISON, an upcoming sungrazer with a perihelion of 730,000 miles on November 28, 2013, is not on the Kreutz Path. In fact, ISON's orbit suggests that it may gain enough momentum to escape the solar system entirely, and never return. Before it does so, it will pass within about 40 million miles from Earth on December 26th. Assuming it survives its trip around the sun. || ", "release_date": "2013-07-16T13:00:00-04:00", "update_date": "2023-05-03T13:52:00.158074-04:00", "main_image": { "id": 463840, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a010000/a011300/a011307/Sungrazer_Still.png", "filename": "Sungrazer_Still.png", "media_type": "Image", "alt_text": "Short, narrated video about sungrazing comets.Watch this video on the NASAexplorer YouTube channel.For complete transcript, click here.", "width": 1280, "height": 720, "pixels": 921600 } } ], "sources": [], "products": [ { "id": 14552, "url": "https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14552/", "page_type": "Produced Video", "title": "Volunteers Help ESA & NASA Mission to Discover 5,000 Comets", "description": "The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), a joint mission of ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA, has discovered its 5,000th comet, thanks to the help of volunteer comet hunters participating in the NASA-funded Sungrazer Project.The sungrazing comet was spotted in SOHO images on March 25, 2024, by Hanjie Tan in the Czech Republic, who has participated in the Sungrazer Project since he was 13 years old. The comet is small and has a short orbital period around the Sun. It belongs to the “Marsden group” of comets, which are thought to be related to the larger comet 96P/Machholz. 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