A comet recently attracted a lot of attention when it became visible in our sky.
The comet, called C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (or Tsuchinshan-ATLAS for short), was discovered by observatories in China and South Africa in early 2023.
It is thought to come from the Oort Cloud, a gigantic spherical shell that surrounds our solar system and contains billions of icy objects. This little comet is slowly heading towards our solar system.
Now the comet C/2023 A3 It is located approximately 175 million kilometers from Earth. Although it seems like a long distance, relatively speaking, it’s right in our neighborhood.
The C/2023 A3 is now visible to the naked eye as a small dot near the eastern horizon, just before dawn, and has been regularly photographed by southern hemisphere astrophotographers in recent weeks.
Records captured in a tourist observatory in the Bío Bío region. Credits: Alex Sáez/Terrazas Patagual/BiobioChile.
It has been reported that it could be the “comet of the century”, as this rocky body has the potential to be the brightest of the 21st century.
It is a particularly fast comet, traveling at 290,664 kilometers per hour. In addition, it could shine brighter than most stars because its core is relatively large (between 6 and 15 km in diameter) and it will pass very close to the Sun and the Earth. This brightness could increase as it approaches our star, at a distance of up to 0.56 astronomical units of our planet.
If it maintains its current trajectory and doesn’t break up, it should be as bright as Jupiter or Mars in the early morning (and later at dusk) over the next month.
How to see it
Tsuchinshan-ATLAS It is currently only visible just before dawn in the morning sky and in areas with little light pollution.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) in Madrid. Credit: Javier Morales Moran /
According to astronomers, the object will continue to be visible at sunrise, recommending looking east between 6:00 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. to appreciate it.
Over time, it appears to become brighter; It is estimated that the comet will reach its maximum brightness on October 7being observable with the naked eye in various areas of the southern hemisphere from September 27 to October 2, where the rocky body will be found in its perihelion at a distance similar to the orbit of the planet Mercury.
The closest point to Earth will occur on Sunday, October 13, making it more favorable its observation in the northern hemisphere and it will have great brightness.
However, remember that the behavior of comets is unpredictable as they approach the Sun. Experts had already warned that the ice that forms the surface of their structure could heat up and fragment, altering their appearance, with the possibility of their proximity to the Sun. Sun will destroy it (we hope this won’t happen with Tsuchinshan-ATLAS).
The last time this impressive comet passed through the solar system was 80,000 years ago. As it is a non-periodic comet, its orbit is indeterminate and it could take between 200 and thousands of years to complete its journey around the Sun. possibility of observing it be unique.
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