In fact, according to Brian Marsden of Harvard University's Minor Planet Center, that giant comet might have been the very same one described in 372 B.C. by the Greek astronomer Ephorus, who observed a bright comet that split in two. Repeated divisions might have eventually yielded the so-called Kreutz family of sungrazers, which share an elliptical orbit that brings them so dangerously close to the sun. The abundance of such comets comes as a surprise to many astronomers, because prior to SOHO sungrazers were only known from the few large enough to withstand the sun's heat and emerge intact, visible from the ground. The other, smaller comets were far fainter. Because the images are updated every half hour on the SOHO Web site, anyone armed with Internet access might be the next comet discoverer.
Archival images are also available.
In fact, it was by studying a picture from April 1997 that amateur astronomer Michael Oates identified SOHO-200. Such contributions have not escaped the attention of professional observers.