Returning after crossing the Sun, it will be possible to see Comet Tsuchenshan-Atlas from all parts of the Northern Hemisphere on the evening of Saturday, October 12, for a period of time. “About ten days”It continues its journey that began millions of years ago. C/2023 A3 (its strict designation) was seen again on Friday evening in North America, which was visible with the naked eye in the Southern Hemisphere in September, and was seen again on Friday evening in North America, notes Eric Lagadec, an astrophysicist at the Observatory. Cote d'Azur, in southern France.
in the meantime, “We could not see it while it was between the Earth and the sun.”It was threatening to disappear nearby, particularly affected by the solar storm that reached Earth on Thursday, causing the northern lights.
The small body of rock and ice was discovered in January 2023 by China's Purple Mountain Observatory (Zuchenshan), giving it the first half of its name. The second is due to the confirmation of its existence by a telescope from the South African Atlas programme.
A long trail of luminous dust
When comets approach our star, the ice in their cores blows away and releases a long trail of dust, reflecting sunlight. The comet is then said to disappear, with the formation of a distinctive hair, called a coma, sometimes in danger of disintegrating.
Starting Saturday, the Zouchenshan Atlas will be visible throughout the Northern Hemisphere every evening “A little higher” In the sky, it can be observed when looking to the west “For ten days”thought Mr. Lagadic. but “Every day its brightness will decrease a little.” As it moves away from the sun, the astrophysicist warns.
Barring obstacles in its path that alter its path, Tsuchinshan-Atlas follows an orbit that should not bring it closer to Earth for 80,000 years, this comet specialist determines. Based on the comet's orbit and some models, it is estimated that it may have traveled up to 400,000 times the distance between Earth and the Sun before reaching us. The journey is estimated in millions of years for this comet, which may have seen daylight in the Oort Cloud, a hypothetical and gigantic collection of minor planets and celestial bodies, at the edge of the solar system.
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