A Second Look at Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)!

I had my first look at Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) last night, but my timing sucked, as I didn't locate it until it was close to the horizon and practically lost in the afterglow of the sunset. Tonight I was a bit better prepared, and the comet itself was higher in the sky. It was a beautiful sight, and the finest I've seen since 1997.

My phone is new and I've had little time to learn what it is capable of, but I was pleased with what I got tonight. I was focusing between 1x to as high as 6x magnification. I was also just able to see the comet with the naked eye, but it wasn't obvious.

Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is getting higher in the western sky each night for the next few weeks, but it will also be growing dimmer as it gets farther from the sun. Get out and see it this week if you can, but if you can't, enjoy these pictures!

Visible now! Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS)

 

It's not often that I get to see two rare astronomical phenomena in the same week, but that's what has happened. The other night was an extraordinary display of the aurora borealis in my part of Central California (and most of the rest of the lower 48 states and Alaska). And tonight was my first look at a comet since 2020. Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is now visible in the west shortly after sunset. It will be rising higher in the sky each night during the remainder of October, but it will be dimmer each night.

I couldn't see it with the naked eye, but the night-shot setting on my smart phone did a decent job of capturing the tail. A short internet search will reveal many spectacular photographs by people with better technology than me. A helpful providing the details of the discovery and location of the comet can be found here.

I've had a spotty relationship with comets over the years. Comet Neowise showed up in 2020, but my photos were not great. The two greatest comets I ever saw appeared in 1996 and 1997, about five years before I got any kind of digital photography equipment. I have great memories of comets Hiyakutake (1996) and Hale-Bopp (1997). They were truly spectacular, and Hale-Bopp was especially bright in the sky when I was crossing the deep dark skies of the Basin and Range province in the middle of the night on a long trip.

If you get a chance over the next few days, take a look west after sunset and see if you can't catch a glimpse of one of the fair treats of the cosmos.

Source: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2024/10/13/2276491/-Comet-C-2023-A3-Tsuchinshan-ATLAS-is-now-visible-after-sunset?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web