A bright comet from the Oort cloud named C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is passing close to Earth and will be visible until late October 2024.
This image, taken by the ESA/NASA Solar-Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) on October 10, 2024, shows Comet Atlas Gassan and its bright tail streaming from upper left to right. Mercury will be visible as a bright dot on the left. Image credit: ESA/NASA.
Comet Tsuchiyama-ATLAS It was discovered on January 9, 2023 by astronomers from China's Zishan Observatory.
The comet, also known as C/2023 A3, was independently discovered by South Africa's ATLAS on February 22, 2023.
It orbits the Sun in a retrograde orbit and lies at an inclination of 139°.
It reached perihelion on September 27, 2024, at a distance of 0.391 astronomical units. Its closest approach to Earth was on October 12th. It is expected to be 200 AU from the Sun in 2239.
Each day throughout October, the comet rises higher and higher in the western sky as it moves away from the sun. But as it progresses, it gets darker and darker.
October 14th to 24th is the best time to observe it using binoculars or a small telescope.
Eagle-eyed skywatchers may be able to spot the star with their naked eyes for a few days, but then binoculars or a telescope will be needed as it gets darker.
“Comet Tuchinshan-Atlas may have come from the Oort Cloud, a region of space between 2,000 times the distance between Earth and the Sun and one light year.” said Jason Ybarra, director of the WVU Planetarium and Observatory.
“This region is so far away that the gravitational pull from the Sun competes with the gravitational pull from passing stars and the entire Milky Way galaxy.”
NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick took this photo of comet Atlas Tsuchiyama on September 28, 2024. At the time, the comet was about 70.8 million kilometers (44 million miles) from Earth. Image credit: NASA/Matthew Dominick.
“The larger the orbit, the longer it takes for the comet to orbit that orbit,” he added.
“In the case of comets originating from the Oort cloud, their orbits take a very long time, so their orbits may change due to gravitational interactions with other bodies in the solar system, and it is possible to predict the future behavior of comets. It becomes difficult to do so.”
“If it gains enough energy from these interactions, Comet Gassan-ATLAS may never come back. It will have to wait at least another 80,000 years. In any case, it will be a once-in-a-lifetime event. It’s an event.”
Just before sunrise on September 28, NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick took a time-lapse photo of the comet Tuchingshan Atlas orbiting over the South Pacific Ocean southeast of New Zealand from the International Space Station.
From October 7th to October 11th, the comet brightly illuminated the field of view of the onboard LASCO (Large Angle Spectroscopic Coronagraph Experiment) instrument. ESA/NASA Solar Heliosphere Observatory (Soho).
This device uses a disc to block the sun's bright light, making it easier to see details and objects near the sun.
Source: www.sci.news
