Time: 2024-08-29
exhilaration is building among astronomer as Comet Tsuchinshan - ATLAS , also know as C/2023 A3 , is set to potentially become a bare - eye object visible from the Northern hemisphere in late September and mid - October . This comet , following in the aftermath of other luminary comet such as 12P / Pons - Brooks , 2023 's green comet , and 2020 's comet NEOWISE , has been generate significant buzz since its discovery in early 2023 . While some doubt have been raise about whether the comet will clasp together and become visible , Holocene image from NASA 's STEREO - A spacecraft show that the comet look to be integral , paving the manner for amateur astronomer to detect it as it approach the sun.
Despite initial prediction propose that the comet could become one of the bright comet in Holocene history , concern were raise as it get_down to dim while approach the sun . astronomer Zdenek Sekanina 's paper in Earth and Planetary Astrophysics predict the potential decomposition of the comet before reach perihelion on September 27 . However , Holocene observation bespeak that the comet is still integral and increase in brightness . As it continue its journey towards the sun , the comet 's surface will heat up , lead to the expulsion of gas and dust that could enhance its visibility , make a bright coma and a stun tail that stretch for thousand of mile behind it.
Comet Tsuchinshan - ATLAS originate from the Oort Cloud , a sphere surround our solar system that house million of comet . measurement approximately 12 - 25 mile across , this hanker - time_period comet orbit the sun once every 80,000 old_age . First detect by astronomer at China 's Purple Mountain Observatory in January 2023 , the comet was later descry by the Asteroid Terrestrial Impact Last Alert System ( ATLAS ) search station in South Africa in February 2023 . With the comet expect to range its extremum brightness of around magnitude -3 by the second week of October , it may become faintly visible even in day , offer a rare celestial spectacle for sky - spectator around the world.
astronomer like Qicheng Zhang of the Lowell Observatory have note the comet 's robust ion tail and the absence of sign of nucleus decomposition , supply hope for its visibility in the approach week . The comet 's dust tail , reflect light toward Earth through forward scattering , could span up to 20 degree in the sky , devising it a capture sight for those detect it from the Northern hemisphere . As the comet continue on its journey , astronomer expect its emergence from the sun 's glare and the potential for it to become a dazzle bare - eye object in the night sky , offer a once - in - a - life screening experience for lotus-eater and astronomy enthusiast alike.
Business
