Comet Howard–Koomen–Michels, formally known as C/1979 Q1 (SOLWIND), was a large
sungrazer that collided with the
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
on August 30, 1979.
It is the only
comet
A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that, when passing close to the Sun, warms and begins to release gases, a process that is called outgassing. This produces a visible atmosphere or coma, and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena ...
known to have made contact with the Sun's surface, as most bodies vaporize before impact. It was observed by the white light
coronagraph
A coronagraph is a telescopic attachment designed to block out the direct light from a star so that nearby objects – which otherwise would be hidden in the star's bright glare – can be resolved. Most coronagraphs are intended to view t ...
, SOLWIND, on the USAF Space Test Program,
P78-1
P78-1 or Solwind was a United States satellite launched aboard an Atlas F rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on February 24, 1979. The satellite's mission was extended by several weeks, so that it operated until it was destroyed ...
satellite. It was the first comet discovered by a space instrument.
Footnotes
External links
Gary W. Kronk's Cometography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Comet Howard-Koomen-Michels
Howard-Koomen-Michels