ESA Science

🔴 BREAKING SPACE WATCH: TWO BRIGHT SOURCES NEAR THE SUN AS SUNGRAZER REPORTS CONTINUE! ☀️☄️ Watch Live: live.spacetracker.org SpaceTracker examines 67 seconds of solar-coronagraph tracking imagery as independent astronomers report small comets approaching the Sun. 📡 SpaceTracker Scientific Investigation October 20, 2026 🔭 WHAT DID THE CAMERA CAPTURE? Two bright features, designated O1 and O2, are highlighted in SpaceTracker's latest investigation of NOAA GOES-19 CCOR-1 imagery. The new video presents a slowed-down, side-by-side comparison of solar observations and running-difference processing. Across the 67-second presentation, the two candidate sources appear against a changing background of solar light and instrument noise. Some frames reveal localized red and cyan difference signatures. Others show substantial image-wide brightness changes that make reliable object tracking more challenging. The question remains: Are these known stars, passing satellites, optical artifacts, or small comets approaching the Sun? ☄️ IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENT: SUNGRAZERS ARE BEING REPORTED The official Sungrazer Project database lists multiple observations from October 19 and 20. On October 19, Michael Stark reported a known Kreutz sungrazer entering the GOES-19 CCOR-1 field. Bill Collins also reported a potential Kreutz comet appearing in observations between 19:45 and 21:30 UTC. On October 20, Eryk Banach submitted observations concerning a Meyer-group comet in SOHO LASCO C2 data. These independent reports show that near-Sun comet activity is being actively investigated. However, no confirmed association between those comet reports and SpaceTracker's O1 or O2 candidates has yet been established. 🛰️ COULD ONE OBJECT BE A SATELLITE? GOES-19 operates approximately 35,786 kilometres above Earth. NOAA confirms that other satellites can cross the coronagraph's field of view and appear as bright points. A satellite may move much faster across the image than a distant background star. To verify a satellite transit, researchers need precise timestamps, measurements of angular motion and an independent orbital match. 🌟 COULD THEY BE BACKGROUND STARS? During October, the Sun passes through Virgo, close to the apparent position of Spica. A star can appear to move relative to the Sun in solar-pointed imagery. This movement may also produce positive and negative features in running-difference images. SpaceTracker is comparing candidate positions with astronomical star maps. The star-field identification is not yet conclusive. 🔬 WHY FRAME SUBTRACTION MATTERS Frame subtraction helps distinguish changing image features from the underlying solar corona. But a difference signal does not automatically establish an unknown object. Scientists must also consider star-field drift, optical reflections, pointing changes and image-processing effects. NOAA reported degraded CCOR-1 white-light image quality in September 2026, while stating that its operational running-difference imagery remained unaffected. That makes scientifically calibrated observations especially valuable. 🌌 THE SEARCH FOR NEW SUNGRAZERS Thousands of small comets have been discovered through solar-coronagraph observations, including many identified by independent sky watchers. Every potential discovery begins with a point of light. What matters next is its trajectory. Does it follow the background stars? Does it move like an Earth-orbiting satellite? Or does it trace a path toward the Sun consistent with a comet? Only precise measurements can answer those questions. 📡 SPACETRACKER INVESTIGATION STATUS ✅ Two candidate image features identified for analysis. ✅ Slowed-down visual inspection completed. ✅ Difference-image signatures observed. ✅ Independent sungrazer reports identified for the same general observing period. 🔎 Precise orbital motion remains unverified. 🔎 No conclusive association with a reported comet has been established. No new comet or satellite discovery is being claimed at this stage. SpaceTracker will continue comparing astronomical catalogs, NOAA observations, satellite trajectories and independent sungrazer reports. The next discovery may begin with a single point of light. The evidence will tell us what it really is. 🌐 spacetracker.space 📡 NOAA GOES-19 / CCOR-1 🔭 Sungrazer Project / U.S. Naval Research Laboratory #BreakingSpace #SpaceTracker #NOAA #GOES19 #CCOR1 #Sungrazer #KreutzComet #CometWatch #SOHO #Astronomy #SpaceScience #SatelliteTracking #SolarSystem