Visual studies of comets are traditionally a dark sky pursuit, as these icy wanderers emerge from the deepest recesses of our solar system. It is perhaps surprising then that a growing wealth of data and science regarding comets has been borne from spacecraft designed exclusively to study the single brightest object in the sky – namely, the Sun! Since the late 1970’s, heliophysics imaging instruments have revealed increasing numbers of near-Sun comets, with recent advances in technology leading to ever more detections, discoveries, and insights. This talk will cover the history of such serendipitous observations, including an overview of the myriad space-based missions that have shaped this domain, and the crucial role of volunteer ‘citizen scientists’ in comet discovery. We will review some of the most spectacular comet image sequences recorded over the past 30 years by missions like SOHO, STEREO, and Parker Solar Probe, and delve into the unique science that these data return. Finally, with the SOHO mission nearing its end, we will explore what the future holds for this dynamic field and the potential for new discoveries in the decades to come.
This is a virtual presentation by Dr. Battams – join him virtually using Google Meet
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8:00-9:00 pm Dr. Battams presentation
Presentation Details
Talk Title: Serendipitous Science: Observations of Comets from Sun-watching Spacecraft
Biography:
Dr. Karl Battams is a computational scientist in the Solar and Heliospheric Physics branch of the US Naval Research Laboratory. He is the Principal Investigator of the LASCO telescope on the joint ESA-NASA SOHO mission, and has led the NASA-funded ‘Sungrazer’ citizen science project for over 20 years. He conducts research in both heliophysics and planetary science, with publications that range from oscillations in the solar atmosphere, to comets, asteroids, and dust trails. Karl is an enthusiastic science communicator, sharing his knowledge with a broad range of audiences of all ages, from grade schools to international symposia, and via online media, in print, on radio, and television documentaries.
