Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS Photobombs SOHO Spacecraft During Powerful Solar Flare (Video)

Nothing makes a photo more interesting than an unexpected guest appearing in the background. And how cool would it be if the photobomber was a comet?

That's exactly what happened to the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory that studies the Sun (SOHO) spacecraft, a joint initiative of the European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA, starting October 7.

Typically, scientists use the view of SOHO's Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) instrument to monitor the sun's activity and determine whether a Coronal mass ejection (CME) accompanies a Solar flare from active sunspot regions. Coronagraphers block the view of the sun's overwhelmingly bright disk, allowing scientists to get a better look at solar activity that would otherwise be obscured by the sun's glare.

This week, a thick, bright line entered from the right side of the SOHO footage, ran across the field of view, and moved toward the top of the image. It has been confirmed to be this glowing white object Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan ATLAS).