Cruisin' Comet (December 21, 2004) Hi-res TIF (3.0M) Casually
arcing above the Sun (from right to left in these SOHO LASCO
views) this week, comet SOHO-884 was first seen by SOHO on Dec.
16, 2004. For the first couple of days in the video clip the
comet's tail is clearly discernible, but then due to our viewing
angle it seems to fade.| The comet was first spotted in four
images taken by SOHO's ultraviolet, interstellar medium-viewing
SWAN instrument by Michael Mattiazzo, but he was not certain
about it. On Dec. 16th, a bright comet entered C3 and was first
reported by John Sachs. Shortly after, Sebastian Hoenig pointed
out that this comet had the very real possibility of being
Michael's SWAN comet, a connection that was soon confirmed. So
many hands were involved in making the discovery. The comet is
not a member of any known group of comets, but instead one that
does not appear on a regular schedule as some do. SOHO has now
discovered over 160 comets this year alone and as can be seen in
the name "SOHO-884",