The Tsuchinshan-ATLAS or Comet Purple Mountain-ATLAS, last seen over 80,000 years ago, will be closest to the Earth on October 12. In the northern hemisphere, it will probably light up the southwestern sky shortly after sunset. Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will come out a little bit earlier each night until fading out altogether over the next few weeks.
C/2023 A3 is a long-period comet that belongs to the Oort Cloud. It was first detected on January 9, 2023, by the Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO), China, and later by the ATLAS, South Africa on February 22, 2023.
“After a period of observation, we determined its orbit, and based on the shape of the orbit, we calculated that its orbital period is approximately 60,000 years,” Zhao Haibin, a researcher at the observatory, told the Beijing News.
National Geographic reports that C/2023 A3 takes at least 80,000 years to orbit the sun and based on that, the last time this comet was visible was around the same time humans began their migration to Asia and North Africa. After this, when the comet appeared again it would be forty thousand years before Neanderthals got extinct.
According to the SETI Institute, a not-for-profit research organisation whose mission is to discover, understand and explain the formation and evolution of life in the universe, it might be seen in the Northern Hemisphere especially to the left of the constellation of the Big Dipper as dusk draws in.
As per Adler Planetarium, it is going to appear slightly brighter and will have +2 magnitude on October 12 at the point closest to the Earth.
When can you see the comet?
The comet will be visible without any equipment. People of the Northern Hemisphere will be able to observe it shortly after sunset on October 12 in the low west looking close to Virgo. The viewing window will be relatively short, possibly 10 to 20 minutes, Wang Kechao of the PMO said to China Media Group (CMG).
Over the next few days, as the comet recedes farther from the sun, it will be more visible and visible for around an hour after sunset. By late October, even though it will appear dim, the duration of time after sunset will allow at least two to three hours for observation.
The astronomer Wang said that with time, the comet will fade out of sight by November this year.
The Royal Observatory Greenwich’s Gregory Brown explained for the Guardian that this might be among the brightest comets of the past couple of decades, which makes an attempt to see it worthwhile.
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