See how the “alien” comet came closest to the Sun

Comet 96P/McHoltz passed at its minimum distance from the Sun. Spacecraft for monitoring

 The Sun SOHO showed what it looked likerapprochement. It was launched in December 1995 and has been monitoring solar activity ever since. However, he also observes comets that fly close to the Sun.

Once every 5 years, the short-period comet 96P/McHoltz flies 18 million km from the surface of the Sun. This is 3 times closer than the distance from the star to Mercury.

This year, it happened on January 31, 2023.AstroAlert compiled images taken by SOHO's C3 camera into a time-lapse video that shows the evolution of the comet's appearance as it passes the Sun.

Comet Makholtz 1 —short-periodA comet from the Jupiter family, which was discovered on May 12, 1986 by American amateur astronomer Donald McHoltz at Loma Prieta Peak in California. It was described as a diffuse object of magnitude 11.0.

Hi-Tech previously told why it is considered unusual.

A strange “alien” comet will approach the Sun today

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