Euclid finds its first comet, C/2026 S1, far above the planets between Jupiter and Saturn

Oct 20 · ESA

ESA’s Euclid, a telescope built to map the dark universe, has discovered its first new comet. Mikko Pöntinen of the University of Helsinki spotted it as a faint streak in Euclid Deep Field North images taken on 16–24 September; the Minor Planet Center confirmed it as a comet on 8 October. C/2026 S1 (Euclid) is about 1.3 billion km from Earth, between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn but well above the plane of the planets, on an orbit that takes thousands of years. Our take: a survey made for galaxies keeps finding the Solar System in its frames.

Source: ESA ↗