Euclid finds its first new comet while surveying the sky
The telescope recorded the previously unknown object in a sequence of September images.
The European Space Agency says its Euclid telescope has discovered a comet for the first time. The object, designated C/2026 S1 (Euclid), appeared in images taken between September 16 and 24.
Euclid was built to make a map of distant galaxies and help researchers investigate the dark components of the universe. A comet belongs to the much closer Solar System, where its movement across the background sky can distinguish it from the stars and galaxies in a series of exposures.
The discovery illustrates how a survey built to answer one question can produce records that are valuable to scientists working on another.