19 March 2024 - Mission Day: 10336 - DOY: 079
PICK OF THE WEEK
 
Pick of The Week
 
 

SOHO Comet Contest Winners (October 14, 2015)

We are pleased to announce the winner and runner-ups in our SOHO 3000th comet contest. The entries had to guess the time and date of perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) of our 3000th comet discovery. The actual date was Sept. 14, 2015. The winning entry was submitted by Michal Biesiada. The three runner-ups are listed in the order they placed. Prize packages have been shipped to each of them.

Congratulations to all and thanks to all who participated.

We asked them to give us some information about themselves and about their interest in SOHO. And here is what they sent us:

Michal Biesiada, of Katowice, Poland: I'm studying computer science at the Silesian University of Technology. I love sports, playing chess and, of course, programming. My interest in SOHO is mainly because of the comet hunting project, but solar activity also interests me (I'm an active amateur solar observer). Astronomy is my passion. My Dad is a professional astronomer (cosmologist - professor of Physics).

Dominique Nicolas, of Corenc, France: I am a French 25-year-old PhD student in the RF electronics domain and a big fan of aerospace stuff since the age of 10. Among other hobbies, I have also been interested in astronomy since even earlier (but no longer practicing at the moment) and I am a radio amateur - that's why I also appreciate SOHO's EUV pictures and views that are not visible-light-only. My strongest desire is to work on spacecraft systems, just like SOHO or its heirs! By the way, this spacecraft is quite special for me since a French space park which I am involved in has been exhibiting a full scale replica model for many years now. Very happy to be among SOHO's 3000th comet contest winners!

Giampaolo Salvato, of Croce, Italy: I am an Italian amateur astronomer, who likes to take pictures of comets, like this. SOHO has always fascinated me in that you can discover comets that otherwise no one would know of their existence.

Steve Vallet, of Moirans-en-Montagne, France: I'm a member of an astronomy club located in Saint-Claude, Jura, France. I regularly check the SOHO images, which are available on my club's website. One of my best memories in astronomy is the perihelion passage of the comet ISON in November 2013, visible in SOHO images. Unfortunately, the comet did not survive and we were not able to watch it in the sky from Earth's. I also own the French website about the Voyager program, which always fascinated me.

 

SOHO began its Weekly Pick some time after sending a weekly image or video clip to the American Museum of Natural History (Rose Center) in New York City. There, the SOHO Weekly Pick is displayed with some annotations on a large plasma display.

If your institution would also like to receive the same Weekly Pick from us for display (usually in Photoshop or QuickTime format), please send your inquiry to steele.hill@gsfc.nasa.gov.

 
 

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Last modification: July 27, 2020

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