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The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is a joint project between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency) that provides solar astronomers with their closest look at our Sun to date. Amateur astronomers, however, have used the images from the spacecraft for something quite unexpected. Hunting for comets. As of May 2nd 435 new comets have been identified, many by amateurs, in the daily solar images provided by the SOHO spacecraft. To encourage more people to become involved in the discovery of these small bodies the SOHO team have announced the SOHO-500 contest which challenges people to guess the time and date that SOHO's 500th comet will be discovered. The winner will receive a DVD or VHS copy of Solar Max, a 40 minute documentary on the scientific study of the Sun.
More info: SOHO 500 Contest
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