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Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is still visible in the night sky, but not for long

Vaseline October 18, 2024

Have you seen comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS yet? If you haven’t caught a glimpse of the bright, icy space rock that traveled from the edge of the solar system, it’s not too late. But you have to see it soon.

The coma and long tail of comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, also called C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), currently shines at magnitude +0.5. That is well within the reach of the human eye. It’s probably past its prime now, but only just, and will likely remain a naked-eye object after sunset in the west and possibly into the weekend.

After that, it will likely only be visible with binoculars for the rest of October and early November. After that a telescope will be needed.

When and where to see Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS

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Celestron NexStar 4SE on a white background — (Image credit: Celestron)

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To see the comet from the Northern Hemisphere, look west from about 45 minutes after sunset; it is located just below and to the right of Arcturus, a bright red giant star in the constellation Boötes.

Seeing at dusk is a challenge. Fortunately, comet watchers can now wait up to two hours before they can see it in a darker sky.

There are caveats because its visibility is a balance between the trifecta of its intrinsic brightness, the darkness of the sky it’s in, and the moonlight – but it inevitably gets dimmer the further away it gets physically, despite now being higher up the night sky stands.

Why the brightness of comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is changing

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS appears higher in the western sky each night and stays in the sky longer, but as it moves further from Earth and the sun each night, it becomes fainter.

While on Monday, October 14, it was 73 million kilometers from Earth and 25 degrees from the Sun, on Friday, October 18, it will be 84 million kilometers from Earth and 40 degrees from Earth. Sun. By next Sunday, that will have increased to 57 million miles (92 million kilometers) and 45 degrees from the sun. This comet is really moving!

When will the last night comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS be visible?

Another problem this week is the bright moon, which is increasingly becoming a full ‘Hunter’s Moon’ on Thursday, October 17. Unfortunately, it’s also the brightest full “supermoon” of the year of 2024, so it dwarfs the moon’s night sky. darkness needed to see the comet.

That’s a shame, but the moon will rise later on Friday, October 18 and throughout the weekend. On Sunday, October 20, the moon will no longer be a factor. That’s just in time and should make Sunday one of the darkest skies yet to see Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS with the naked eye. It could be the last time, but if you miss it, don’t lose hope: keep looking until Saturday, October 26.

As author David H. Levy wrote in Comets: creators and destroyers“Comets are like cats: they have tails and they do exactly what they want.” Arm yourself with a good pair of binoculars and you’ll have a chance to see Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS for a while.

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Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is still visible in the night sky, but not for long

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Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is still visible in the night sky, but not for long

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