Observing comets with the Metis coronagraph on-board the Solar Orbiter mission

The Metis coronagraph on-board the Solar Orbiter ESA mission is devoted to the study of the solar corona, but will also have the chance to observe near-Sun comets. Starting from November 2021 the scientific phase of the Solar Orbiter mission will take place. Metis can observe comets passing into its Field of View (FoV) covering an annulus between 1.6° and about 3° centered in the Sun direction. For the first time, simultaneous observation of comets both in the visible and in the UV at the Lyman-alpha can be performed. Comets with known trajectories passing in the Metis FoV will be planned to be observed; all the other comets, likely to be the majority, will be observed by serendipity.