Catch the Comet This Weekend! Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is on its way, and it’s your chance to see the brightest comet in over a decade! T

C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS): How to See the Comet of the Year Tonight?

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2024-10-13 14:00:07

Catch the Comet This Weekend! Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is on its way, and it’s your chance to see the brightest comet in over a decade! This weekend, October 11-12, look up to catch this amazing sight. Not sure where to look? No problem! Just download the Star Walk 2 app, and we'll guide you directly to the comet. Curious for more cool facts and viewing tips? Check out our full article for all the details. Join millions who’ll be watching this spectacular comet. Get the app now, read on, and prepare to be amazed!

First of all, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) is very bright — it’s already the brightest comet in the last 13 years. And it hasn’t even reached the peak brightness yet! On October 2, it reached a magnitude of 0.4, overtaking the famous C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE) (peak magnitude 0.9) from summer 2020. From around October 11, Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS will be visible to the naked eye from the Northern Hemisphere — we’ll see how bright it will eventually get.

Also, C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) has grown a beautiful long cometary tail. It's already 21° long — about 42 times the size of the Full Moon's disk. After passing the Sun at a distance similar to Mercury's orbit, C/2023 A3's coma of dust and ice has heated up considerably. As the ice particles evaporate, they quickly escape into space, taking with them a large amount of dust that will extend into a long, bright tail. History shows that comets that pass close to the Sun have the most impressive tails, formed soon after being "roasted" by the Sun's heat. This is the case with comet C/2023 A3!