(ORDO NEWS) — While studying images taken on December 20, 2022 by the SOHO solar observatory, astronomers drew attention to an unusual bright object that appeared in the field of view of the telescope’s cameras.
The researchers immediately realized that they had stumbled upon something strange and surprising.
Over 27 years of operation, SOHO has discovered thousands of near-solar comets, but the new object was completely different from one of them.
During the subsequent analysis of the data, scientists came to the conclusion that the unidentified object is a fragment of the observatory itself.
The fact is that SOHO collides with micrometeorites from time to time. Their impact knocks out clusters of particles from the telescope’s heat shield.
Shortly before the appearance of the object, SOHO cameras recorded a bright band corresponding to the appearance of such a cluster.
This means that a micrometeorite has hit the telescope. Therefore, the mysterious object is actually a small fragment of the telescope’s thermal protection.
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