SOHO sees comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (October 14, 2024)
C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) was discovered by the Purple Mountain Observatory (China) in January 2023 and independently found in February 2023 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) located at the Sutherland Observatory in South Africa.
The comet passed perihelion on 27 September 2024 and became visible to the naked eye.
Tsuchinshan-ATLAS peaked its brightest magnitude shortly after passing the Sun at October 9 and was briefly visible to the naked eye during the day.
On SOHO, the comet made its appearance in LASCO's C3 field of view on October 7.
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Caption: Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in LASCO's field of view while a halo CME |
MOVIES (Click on image to play, includes audio)
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Left Image: Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in LASCO's field of view while a halo CME
and planet
Mercury (left of the Sun, at about nine o'clock) are visible.
Credits: Simeon Schmauß and SOHO (ESA & NASA).
Right Image: Composite clip of
LASCO C2, C3 and AIA 131.
Credits: SOHO (ESA & NASA), created by Daniel Müeller (ESA), using JHelioviewer.
After the nucleus of comet Tshuchinsan-ATLAS left LASCO C3's field of view, the tail remained visible until about October 14th.
The comet is classified as a Hyperbolic Comet. Such comets have a hyperbolic orbit, which means that the comet will only travel through the Solar System once, making this viewing of Tshuchinsan-ATLAS a once-in-a-lifetime event.
Links (more images, videos and full story):
- Comet C/2023 A3 brightens SOHO's week from ESA
- ESA/NASA's SOHO Spies Bright Comet Making Debut in Evening Sky from NASA
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