Euclid discovers first previously unknown comet

The Euclid space telescope has discovered its first comet. The object is a previously unknown comet designated C/2026 S1 (Euclid).

C/2026 S1 (Euclid) is confirmed as a comet and is an active object shedding dust and gas.

The object is placed in Euclid Deep Field North, with 5 fields of view and 16 exposures listed.

The Euclid space telescope entry lists 2026-09-16/2026-09-24.

Its distance is given as 1300000000 kilometres, equivalent to the distance from the Sun to a position between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn.

The orbit is listed as thousands of years. The path is not in the same horizontal plane as the planets and is straight up from the Sun's perspective.

Mikko Pöntinen, associated with the University of Helsinki, developed moving object detection software and reported the find to the IAU MPC as a new comet.

The Solar System Objects Science Working Group is related to the Euclid Consortium.

The comet is not a suitable candidate for Comet Interceptor, an ESA future mission.

For readers tracking the lunar industry, the relevant point is that Euclid can identify moving Solar System objects even though it is built for deep, steady pictures of distant galaxies and avoids the sky band rich in asteroids and comets.

The quick turnaround proves detection while far from the Sun. That supports tracking Solar System objects and removing noise from Euclid images.