Comet of the Year: Are we on the verge of a fantastic naked-eye event?

While there are no guarantees, a comet is expected to brighten significantly over the coming months and, with luck, could be a bright naked-eye comet in September and October.

After April’s total solar eclipse and May’s best aurora since 2002, this could be the celestial icing event for sky watchers in 2024. It comes in the wake of April’s 12P/Pons-Brooks, the 2023 ‘green comet’ and the comet NEOWISE of 2020, or NEOWISE. the ‘lockdown comet’.

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is now passing through the constellation Leo and is barely visible with a small telescope just after sunset. He climbs higher in the sky every night.

Here’s everything you need to know about Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, from when to see it to where to find it in the night sky in September and October.

What is Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS?

It is a long-period comet discovered in January 2023 by astronomers from the South African Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescope and China’s Tsuchinshan Observatory.

It returns to the inner solar system about every 80,000 years from the Oort cloud, a sphere around our solar system that is home to millions of comets.

It was photographed on June 1 by The Virtual Telescope Project. “At the moment the comet is performing somewhat underperforming, so closer monitoring is needed to better assess its future visibility,” wrote Gianluca Masi of The Virtual Telescope Project. That’s consistent with what comet observer and photographer José J. Chambo told Sky At Night earlier this month. “Since mid-April, the comet’s light curve has stalled and remains at magnitude 10.5,” Chambo said. That’s common for comets that come from the outer reaches of the solar system. “They usually recover within a few days, but this could have a negative impact on the maximum brightness that C/2023 A3 reaches in October 2024.” However, it could still reach magnitude 1, as bright as the 20 brightest stars in the night sky.

When should you see Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS?

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will reach perihelion (closest to the Sun) on September 27. Then he should reach his brightest point. However, comets are known to be difficult to predict. Although it is expected to become visible to the naked eye, it may brighten significantly or fade to nothing.

In addition to the innate brightness of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, the hemisphere you are in will also influence when you are likely to get the best view. For those in the Southern Hemisphere, the best views will likely be before sunrise around perihelion on September 27. It will be in the constellation Leo and Sextans.

However, those in the Northern Hemisphere will likely have their best shot at the sky after sunset around October 12, by which time Earth will be closest to Earth at about 45 million miles (70 million kilometers), after orbiting the Sun and be the way out of the inner solar systems. system. It will be in the constellation Ophiuchus over the west.

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How to best see Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS

There are three things you need to see a comet with the naked eye: luck, clear skies, and darkness. It is hoped that Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS could also get a cosmic brightness boost. Due to its orientation, its tail, made of ice and dust, can reflect light back toward Earth, making it appear brighter. Astronomers call this forward scattering.

Clear skies will be important, but not something stargazers can control. It’s a good idea to have a location in mind that is far away from light pollution (which can drastically reduce visibility of comets) that you can drive to in case there are clear skies around mid-October (if you remember). in the Northern Hemisphere). That might mean finding an International Dark Sky Place, or some other place that looks dark on a light pollution map.

Either way, the arrival of comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS this fall is good timing. September and October are great times of year to see aurora in both hemispheres.

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I wish you clear skies and big eyes.