A team of European astronomers has found a previously unknown comet, which has been detected as a tiny blob of light orbiting our Sun deep in the Solar System.
Europe's Teide Observatory Tenerife Asteroid Survey team has been credited with discovering comet P/2014 C1, named 'TOTAS' in recognition of the teamwork involved in the find.
The comet was unexpectedly discovered on February 1 during a routine set of observations using the 1 m-diameter telescope at ESA's Optical Ground Station, Tenerife, Spain.
The confirmation was announced by the International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center, the international clearing house for all such discoveries, on February4, after eight other observatories confirmed the sighting.
The tiny object is extremely faint, and its orbit was determined to lie between Jupiter and Mars - it will not come close to Earth.