Science & Exploration 19/10/2026 3903 views 60 likes

The European Space Agency’s Euclid space telescope has discovered its first previously unknown comet, in images taken between 16 and 24 September 2026.

Comet C/2026 S1 (Euclid) observations in context

The discovery [ 1 ] is impressive for a mission that is designed to take deep, steady images of distant galaxies – not for following fast-moving Solar System objects like comets [ 2 ]. Furthermore, the quick turnaround between identifying and validation proves the case that Euclid can detect new comets while they are still relatively far from the Sun, potentially leading to a suitable target for ESA’s future Comet Interceptor mission .

Mikko Pöntinen of the University of Helsinki [ 3 ], together with the Solar System Objects Science Working Group of the Euclid Consortium, made the initial discovery using moving object detection software that Mikko developed to monitor small Solar System objects in Euclid’s images: “I was excited to see my software flag a…