Welcome Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS
Representational image of hale Bopp
Comets are notorious for not ‘performing’ as expected. But this comet from beyond the realm of planets and dwarf planets like Pluto and outermost reaches of the Solar system is probably paying a visit to its Sun for the first and last time. Till I am writing this Comet C/2030 A3 is putting up the great show. It was discovered in the year 2023 on 9th January Purple Mountain observatory in China and by ATLAS and Asteroid impact alert system in South Africa on 22nd Feb. As per convention this comet is popularly known after the first two discoverers Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. Till the 20th centenary most of the comets were discovered by Amateur Astronomers spending years scanning sky with their hand built telescopes and binoculars now in most cases automated survey programs outsmarting amateur. But the joy of watching imaging these ‘dirty snowballs’ putting up a Halo of coma and tail made up of gas and dust is growing.
In the last quarter of 20th centenary Helly’s comet’s flop show Comet Hale Bopp In 1997 and Hyakutake in 1996 put up great show both were visible to common public even from most light polluted cities. Hyakutake outperformed the much anticipated Hale Bopp by flaunting a tail covering almost half of the sky. After that many promising comets were discovered but mostly remained OBS queried for masses and only serious amatuture could be able to spot them with naked eyes. Biggest flop of last decade was comet ISON after closely grazing the Sun in its orbit it disappeared in a puff of ‘smoke’. Current icy visitor comet Tsuchinshan- ATLAS appears to be fulfilling its potential to be a great public comet. After it is swung by the Sun or perihelion, it is still brightening.
location of Comet C/2023 A3 on 14th October in western sky.
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS can now be spotted just before the Sunrise in the north eastern sky in the constellation of the Leo. It is easily visible to the naked eye from rural and suburban places and could be difficult to spot due to haze or clouds near the horizon. Monsoon is almost over, if you have missed this icy visitor there is a second chance to grab a view. In a few days the comet will shift to the evening sky and is expected to be closest to the Earth on12 october, so it is brightest and best positioned in the evening sky around mid october. Best bet is grab a pair of binoculars and head for a place away from the city light in the hills or plains. Starguides at Starscapes observatories with world class state of art equipment are gearing up to help you catch up with the Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. I am sure you love to have your selfie with this comet. We will keep you posted for this rendezvous.
