These shots from around the world are some of the best we’ve seen of Comet C/2023 A3 so far.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) sports prominent dust and ion trails in this photo taken on the morning of Sept. 30 from Farm Tivoli in Namibia. Credit: Gerald Rhemann
Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS has not disappointed — and we have the pictures now to prove it.
The comet, formally known as C/2023 A3, was first discovered in January 2023 by Purple Mountain Observatory in China’s Jiangsu Province. (The name Tsuchinshan comes from an older transliteration of Zijinshan, the Chinese word for Purple Mountain.)
Since then, it has been working its way into the inner solar system, reaching its closest point to the Sun — or perihelion — on Sept. 27.
In the coming days, the comet will move into conjunction with the Sun, meaning it will be lost in our star’s glare. But it will reemerge as an evening object in mid-October, around the same time as when it makes its closest approach to Earth on Oct. 12.
The following photographs were taken when Tsuchinshan-ATLAS was at or near perihelion on Sept. 27, or shortly before. Submit your photos to readergallery@astronomy.com, and we will add our favorite shots to this story.
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) sports prominent dust and ion trails in this photo taken on the morning of Sept. 30. The imager used a 12-inch scope and LRGB exposures of 200, 100, 100, and 100 seconds, respectively. Credit: Gerald RhemannRhemann also sent this view from his observatory at Farm Tivoli, where he took the previous shot. Credit: Gerald RhemannComet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS’ tail stretches over 4° in this 10-second exposure taken Sept. 27 from San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. The photographer used a Nikon D750 at ISO 3200 and a 70mm f/2.8 lens. Credit: Allen HwangThe tail of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS streaks across the sky above Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands on Sept. 28. The photographer used a Canon 6D and 50mm lens at f/2.2 and ISO 3200 to take a 2.5-second exposure. Credit: Javier Falcón QuintanaComet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS appears above the ridgeline of the Diablo Range as seen Sept. 28 from Lick Observatory in California. The photographer captured the comet with a tracked 10-second exposure at ISO 100 with an astromodified Nikon mirrorless camera and a 200mm zoom lens at f/2.8. The foreground is a separate 25-second exposure. Credit: Abhijit PatilA ketch at anchor outside of Syracuse on the Sicilian coast Sept. 29 serves as the foreground for this shot of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS taken as a 6-second tracked exposure with a Nikon mirrorless camera at ISO 500 and zoom lens at 350mm and f/8. Credit: Massimo Tamajo
The comet is getting brighter !! 😱 September, 29. I just captured an image of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) from the Atacama Desert, Chile 🇨🇱✨. The tail is so long that it barely fits in the field of view of a 135 mm lens. It’s so impressive !! The view was absolutely… pic.twitter.com/763xs83xaD
This morning, I captured another image of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) from the @LCOAstro site in the Atacama Desert, Chile 🇨🇱✨😱. The view was absolutely stunning !!! The comet is clearly visible visually. My gear: Nikon D810a camera with a 135mm lens. Exposure: 20 x 30… pic.twitter.com/lieSFHEP1W
Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is finally here ! ☄️✨I captured this image this morning at 09:22 UTC from @LCOAstro in Atacama desert in Chile 🇨🇱 The view was absolutely spectacular ! The clouds were constantly moving just above the horizon, but we got really lucky when the… pic.twitter.com/AoClHkatFr
