There is great interest in Phaethon due to its distinctive activity and mysterious history, which make it an essential and intriguing source of up-close future study. Hence, JAXA is preparing to send a flyby mission called DESTINY+ to image the surface of Phaethon in 2028 and uncover more about its history.
In addition to future missions, citizen scientists can play their part in revealing new discoveries using SOHO. Over 4500 Sun-skirting objects have been identified in SOHO images, the majority with the help of the Sungrazer Project. Citizen scientist ‘comet hunters’ can sift through SOHO and STEREO data to identify new objects.

Karl Battams, principal investigator of both LASCO and the Sungrazer project, explains, “SOHO is the most prominent comet hunter in history, with a huge catalogue of discoveries still awaiting detailed analysis. Both SOHO and STEREO are uniquely placed to be able to routinely observe objects extremely close to the Sun. The future of asteroid and comet studies is bright thanks to these and future encounter missions that will help us uncover more about these dynamic objects.”

“Since its launch in 1995, SOHO and its instruments continue to deliver exciting science, using the mission in different ways to study asteroids and comets in addition to its primary target, the Sun,” adds Bernhard Fleck, ESA’s SOHO project scientist.