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

[LazyHippo]

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS seen over Whippoorwill Hill, in Bloomington, Indiana on Oct. 16, 2024. (Image credit: Josh Dinner/Future)
 

 

Have you seen comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS yet? If you've not been able to glimpse the bright, icy space rock that's traveled from the edge of the solar system, it's not too late. But you need to see it soon.

 

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

 

After that, it will likely be visible only in binoculars for the rest of October and into early November. A telescope will be needed after that.

To see the comet from the northern hemisphere, look west from about 45 minutes after sunset; it's just below and to the right of Arcturus, a bright red giant star in the constellation Boötes.
 

(Image credit: Josef Pittner - Shutterstock.com)

 

 

Seeing in twilight is challenging. Happily, comet-gazers can by now wait for up to two hours after that to catch 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 moonlight — but it's inevitably getting dimmer as it gets physically more distant despite now being placed higher in the night sky.

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is appearing higher up in the western sky each night, and remaining in the sky for longer, but since it's getting farther from Earth and the sun each night, it's getting fainter.