THERE are so many satellites jostling for position above us that a snapshot from outer space would appear to show the Earth enveloped in a swarm of gnats.

Or at least that could be the impression gathered at first glance from computer generated images released yesterday by the European Space Agency (ESA) in Paris.

The images show trackable objects in orbit around Earth, with at least 12,000 objects doing their rounds.

The majority of those, about 11,500 pieces,are in low Earth orbit, which is at an altitude of between 800 and 1500km, where most commercial, military, scientific and navigational satellites operate.

In this low orbit, debris can stay adrift for decades before it eventually burns up in Earth's atmosphere.

There are another 1147 pieces in geostationary orbit, where the satellite orbits in the direction of the Earth's rotation, at an altitude of approximately 35,786km.

This is usually the domain telecommunication satellites.

Meanwhile two of NASA's satellites have captured amazing images of the Sun "belching" out debris and ripping the tail of a comet, the BBC reports.

In a process known as Coronal Mass Ejections - or less informally as solar burps - billions of tons of hydrogen and helium can be hurled into space.

While the Earth is somewhat protected by its magnetic field these eruptions can still knock out satellite communications equipment, control gear on aircraft and even power grids.

But a comet was not so lucky, a scientific conference in Vienna was told yesterday, with the Sun's emissions apparently shearing the tail off.